To Be a Jedi
by Promised Flower
Summary: Probably isn't a good idea for me to start another story, but that's me for ya. What do any of us know about destiny? A young Jedi will learn more about her fate and what it is to be a Jedi.
1. Go Bother a Krayt Dragon

I really, REALLY shouldn't be starting another story to work on right now, but I had this idea and thought I'd throw it onto the site. I actually have a plot for this one, so maybe I'll continue.

By the way, the title is a working title since I couldn't think of anything at the time. Maybe I'll keep it. Ya never know!

Anyway, let me know what you think, meaning READ and REVIEW.

* * *

ONE

"Hey, babe, how 'bout me for some comp'ny tonight?" slurred a hairy human, looking the woman up and down. She was about 5' 6" with red-blonde hair pulled up and braided tightly. Her dark violet eyes looked him over with disgust, and she put a strong hand against his chest to halt his advances.

"No, thank you," she said firmly, trying to avoid violence and yet knowing the words would have about as much effect on the man as poison gas would on a rancor; nada.

"Come on, honey, just a quick one…" he said while grabbing her around the waist.

Emlyn pulled out a small dagger and held it to the man's throat. "Unless you want another air hole in your body, I'd suggest you stay away from me," she said calmly.

"You wouldn't do that to me. I can tell you want…" the drunk began again.

A male voice spoke just as Emlyn was seriously considering stabbing the man somewhere that would be painful but not fatal. "She said no. Back off."

The drunk gulped, staring at something over Emlyn's shoulder. He let go of her and hurried off. After tucking her dagger away, Emlyn turned to thank her 'rescuer'. He was just a little taller than she, with dark brown hair and handsome features.

"Thanks," she said, turning back to her juma juice. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to get violent."

"No problem, and it didn't seem like you were hoping that to me," the young man replied with a small smile.

Then Emlyn noticed what had made the drunk so nervous; the young man was wearing a Jedi robe and a lightsaber. "You're a…" she started.

"Jedi, yeah," he said absently. She supposed he was used to getting that reaction.

Grinning, Emlyn stuck out her hand to him. "Nice to meet, you; you have no idea how nice it is to…" she stopped, withdrawing her hand as she halted herself.

The young man seemed to realize that she didn't want to continue and so changed the subject. "The name's Dustil Onaesi. You are?"

Emlyn hesitated for a moment, searching Dustil over with the Force. She did not sense any deception or ill will toward her. Either he was genuine or a Sith Lord. She decided on the former. "Emlyn Trai," she said finally, putting her hand back out to him. He shook it, giving her an odd smile.

"That's an older way to greet people," he observed.

Emlyn shrugged, gesturing to the bartender to bring her another glass of juma juice. "I haven't been around here for very long, so I wouldn't know."

"Don't drink?" Dustil asked.

"Almost never; it slows me down too much, and I don't like that," Emlyn replied, sipping at her newly arrived juice.

"So where have you been traveling?" Dustil inquired conversationally, taking a drink of his own juice.

"Oh, here and there. I recently arrived here on Corusant from Manaan. Nearly didn't get off after I… crashed," Emlyn explained.

"Crashed?"

"Yeah. Not much of a pilot, I guess," she said. The pirates that had been tailing her might have had something to do with it too. Turning the conversation toward him, she asked, "So what's it like at the Jedi temple here? I don't know much about the Order."

"Its how it's always been, I guess. There aren't many Jedi left. We lost three not too long ago," was Dustil's answer.

"What from?"

"A Sith lord," he said, "You really haven't been here long, have you? Half the galaxy must know that by now. Where have you been?"

Cold dread began to fill Emlyn's stomach as she thought of Sith. "Was…" she hesitated to swallow, her mouth becoming dry, "was it a true Sith lord? Or just…"

Dustil looked at her sharply. "How do you know about them?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because a good friend of mine was killed by three of them six months ago," Emlyn shot at him, becoming angry. The rest was none of his business, and he shouldn't be looking at her as though she would stick a blade down his…

"What else?" Dustil asked sternly.

Frack. "Nothing you need to know," Emlyn stated firmly, hoping to end the conversation.

"If it has to do with the Sith it is; that's my job," he replied, ignoring her tone. "Where did it happen?"

"Look, if I knew talking to you would end up as an interrogation, I wouldn't have done it! My business is my own, so go bother a krate dragon," she snapped, pushing away from the counter.

"Hey!" she heard him call after her. Suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder. Emlyn jerked away and turned to face Dustil. "I'm sorry if I upset you," he said, seeming calm.

"Oh, are you? How noble," Emlyn said snappishly. Then, realizing how she sounded, and thinking about what Lea would have done to her if she had been there, Emlyn sighed. "I'm sorry, it's not you, really. I don't mean to take anything out on you, but you really should learn to back off." There she went again. "Again, sorry."

"It's…"

"I accept your apology, and hope you accept mine, but I really have to go. See you around, maybe," Emlyn said quickly, slipping away through the crowded cantina.

* * *

Talking to the young Jedi had forced memories that she was trying to forget, to leave behind… to run from. 

"It was none of his business!" she snapped at no one as she walked down the street toward the public transport station. "He shouldn't have pried."  
_  
'But it is what he does; he protects the galaxy, as you should be doing,'_ said a quiet voice in here head.

_Well, it still doesn't give him the right to…!_  
_  
'He wasn't prying. Did he ask you who died, how you knew them, what your relationship was? No. He just wanted to know about the Sith threat,'_ the voice interrupted gently.

_I can't tell him about that! I promised…_

_'Sometimes promises must be broken for the greater good, Emlyn.'_

Emlyn shut her eyes in irritation. _You know I can't do that. You should be the one telling me not to break the promise! If I do…  
_  
_'Let go, Emlyn,'_ the voice said softly.

"NO!" Emlyn shouted, startling several beings walking around her. Without even glancing around she took off for the bus that had just landed at the station. She couldn't let anything happen, not to…

"Card please," said a bored voice, snapping Emlyn from her thoughts. She looked up to see a very bored looking Rodian holding a hand out for her transport card. After showing it to him she was allowed to board the bus. She chose a window seat thinking that the scenery could distract her from everything else, but there was only so much of the city you could stand before you lost it.  
Instead of looking at the countless buildings on the planet, Emlyn closed her eyes as the bus took off. Taking a deep breath, she murmured to herself, "Peace, quiet, tranquility," as she pictured in her mind scenes from various planets. A sunset on Tatooine, the wind through the grass of Dantooine, the sparkling waters of Manaan, the stars, the moons, the sky…

Soon Emlyn was relaxed and could look out the window in relative peacefulness, thanking Lea silently for teaching her that trick. If something made her upset she would go somewhere no one would talk to her and imagine relaxing things. Amazingly it did the trick.

After riding around Corusant for three hours or so, the driver finally demanded to know where Emlyn wanted to go. "You're taking up space other passengers could be using!" he had snarled.

Emlyn looked around the huge bus. There were five beings on board other than herself. "Yeah… I can see that," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Where? If you don't tell me you're going to find yourself stuck up the nearest…"

"Okay! Take me to…"

_'The Jedi Temple.'_

_No!_

_'Yes; you must be Trained.'_

_They'll want to know about the Sith!_

_'Go to the Temple.'  
_  
"The Temple, please," Emlyn finished, sighing in defeat.

_'Thank you.'_

_You shouldn't be thanking me._

_'You should be letting go.'_

_No..._

"Are you getting off this bus or not!" the driver shouted at her.

"What?" Emlyn asked in confusion, and then realized that she had drifted off to sleep and that they were at the station nearest the Temple. "Oh, thanks. Uh, sorry about the incon…"

"Just get out!"

"Sheesh, touchy," Emlyn muttered to herself as she gazed around at the new sector of Corusant she was in. It resembled area she had just come from. In fact, it looked a lot like it… Peering at a the large signs all around her, she realized that she had been taken in a huge circle and was in fact five blocks away from the cantina she had been in.

"Frack!" she cursed. She had used up more credits to get somewhere she could have walked to! She would be starving at this rate! How many credits did she have left? She didn't know, but it wasn't enough to survive much longer than a week on.  
_  
'You're at the Temple. Go in.'_

Emlyn scowled up at the building. The last thing she wanted to do was be around a bunch of stuck up Masters who were more interested in meditating than helping people. Thinking things through was important, but it ceased to help if you hesitated to the point where it didn't matter what you decided anymore; when it was too late.

_'They can still train you; you must be trained, Emlyn.'_

_I've already been trained! I don't…_

_'You have learned a great deal, but there is never an end to learning. You're getting stronger, but you can't go without guidance.'_

_…………I know._ Taking a deep breath, Emlyn began to calm herself. She let it out, and with it her frustration with the Order. She could do it; she could ask them to test her and train her.

_'They will try to turn you away with the reason that you are too old; do not let them. Insist that they test you and take you on as a padawan at least on a trial basis.'_

_Okay._

The Temple was a large stone building that was undergoing repairs from an attack several years ago. There was a Jedi at the door, apparently to watch the entrance. Emlyn strode up to the door with purpose and stopped in front of the Jedi. "I am here to see the Council, please take me to them," she said politely, keeping her face blank.

"They are in session at the moment, but you can wait if you'd like," the Jedi replied just as civilly, "I'll show you where."

Emlyn followed him through a series of rooms, a few of them that had simple fountains that made the most wonderful sounds. While they walked, Emlyn subtly searched for information on the Jedi, and knew that he would be searching her over as well, trying to find out whether or not she would be a threat.

"Here we are. You may wait in this room while I inform the Council of your presence," he said, motioning her to a bench by another fountain and then walking through a large pair of doors.

The room was cool and bright, and seemed very fresh with the fountain and the plants that were scattered around. The walls were a light stone, as was the floor, with small, intricate carvings in places that seemed to be words. Emlyn looked closely, but could not decipher them.

"The Council will see you now," said a voice. Emlyn looked up from where she had been crouching by the bench and nodded, standing up. She followed him through the doors and down a long hall and through an arch, and then she was in front of them. There were not very many, but enough to look intimidating. Although one might have been enough for that.

"Welcome," said a Twi'lek member of the Council.

"Hello," Emlyn returned with a bow, "My name is Emlyn Trai, and I would like to be tested to become a padawan."

A small green Council member with pointed ears nodded. "Sense that, we could. Why do you wish to be trained as a Jedi?"

"I am Force sensitive, and I believe it was what I was born to do," Emlyn replied, clasping her hands behind her back.  
She figured the whole truth would be the best way to go.

"Being a Jedi isn't an easy path; it's not all fame and glory. It is very difficult, and many perish as a Jedi," an older human Council member said.

"I understand, Master, but that is not the reason I must become a Jedi. I have the ability to help people, and that is what I wish to do. I have had some training, but would like to continue being taught," Emlyn said calmly.

"Think about this, we must," said the small green Master, "Wait outside, you will. Call you shortly, we will."

"Thank you, Masters," Emlyn said courteously. With a bow she left them and returned to the room with a fountain. "Are you happy now?" she whispered as she strode around the room.

_'They will accept you.'_

_How do you know?_

_'They did not sense the Darkness in you, but the Light, and they are very short on Jedi. The reformation will possibly take centuries or more.'_

Emlyn leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, letting her arms rest on her knees. What would it be like being trained by a Jedi Master? She had met very few Jedi in her twenty years of life, and she had disagreed with over half. But… maybe it was for the best. She did need to be trained, that much she knew; she could feel her Force abilities growing daily and knew she needed instruction to control it.

_'Do not be frightened.'_

_Of what? The Jedi? I'm not. I think I might be a bit excited to be trained and meet other…_

_'No. You are going to have a vision, I can feel it.'_

_How can you possibly know that? I've never_…

**_Emlyn was silent as the room faded from her eyes and different images swam into focus in front of her retinas. She was in another temple of some sort, but she wasn't sure if it belonged to Jedi._**

**_"The students are settled in, then?" said a voice to Emlyn's right. She turned quickly and saw a young man with blonde hair strolling next to an older man with gray streaked hair._**

**_"Yes. They've even been fed," the older man joked lightly, "and they're ready to be initiated. There are a couple of them we might want to keep our eyes on, though. I'm sure I was never that impatient in my younger years."_**

**_"Can't imagine," the blonde man said, raising one eyebrow._**

**_The scene changed and Emlyn was standing amid a throng of people, most of them young adults around her age, a few much older, a few much younger. She noticed a dark haired boy off to one side who seemed to be pestering a young woman intent on ignoring him. Off to another side was a twi'lek that looked so excited Emlyn half expected her to explode. There were humans, rodians, twi'leks, and a number of other species talking to one another in the large room._**

**_Emlyn looked up and saw the blonde young man standing on a slightly raised portion of the room, smiling at the crowd. "Welcome to the Jedi Academy," he said._**

**_The Jedi Academy? Emlyn thought, bewildered. Surely these people couldn't all be padawans! Or even apprentices! They were too old, every single one of them._**

**_"Since there is still a shortage of Jedi to teach you, I will be assigning two of you to a Master…" The young man said. He went on to explain the Academy, and further confused Emlyn. He said that there was not necessarily such thing as a Dark side or Light side power; it was only how you used the techniques that determined the side of them. He explained that they would probably be trained at least a couple years before they were to become Jedi Knights, and went on to explain that duty._**

**_After a while of listening is dazed sort of way, Emlyn watched as the young man, Luke Skywalker, he had said, assigned the new apprentices. The dark haired youth and the girl he was talking to were to be taught by the older man Luke Skywalker had been talking to: Master Katarn. She seemed to float over to where they spoke just in time to hear Master Katarn say, "Don't call me Master, just Kyle will do fine. I'm not your master; I'm just your teacher."_**

**_"Yes Mas… Kyle," Rosh replied._**

Suddenly Emlyn was jerked out of the vision as her head hit the hard stone of the Temple floor. "Ow!" she yelped, quickly picking herself up. She must have fallen over.

_What was that? _She asked mentally. _Was that the future or the past? Surely not the present. They were Jedi, but… not normal ones. Not calling them Masters? And the apprentices were all too old! And what was it that Luke Skywalker said about no Dark Force powers? Something about the Force not being evil, but the way it was used could be bad. I don't understand…_

_'That is alright, you will. I will help though; it was the future. You saw the Prophesized One, the one that brought balance to the Force. Your vision is thousands of years in the future, it is the future of the Jedi. He will be the greatest leader to date, and he will lead in another great war, though not as great as the one approaching. The coming war with the Sith will be one of the greatest in history.'_

_What? I still don't understand. Is Skywalker right about the force powers? And what about the rest? Does…  
_  
Emlyn was forced out of her thoughts as a Jedi walked into the room and motioned her to return to the Council room. With a slight nod, Emlyn forced her now stiff limbs to carry her through the doors once more.

"Thought about your request, we have," said the little green Master after Emlyn had greeted them with a bow.

_'Master Vandar,'_ the voice said quietly.

"Train you, we will."

* * *

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	2. A Tutor

Here's the second chapter. I'm thinking about doing a third. Sorry it's so long, but I just kinda kept going; I wanted to describe some of the Temple life, and I just wanted to write it down, so here it is. Oh, and thanks to Lady Drachir for reviewing!

Everyone else who reads this… REVIEW!

That's all, thanks!

Declaimer: I am disinclined to claim KotOR or KotOR II, so I would appreciate it if I wasn't sued.

* * *

**TWO**

Emlyn looked down at her new Jedi robes and scowled. She had been messing with them for the better part of ten minutes and still couldn't figure out the correct way to wrap them.

'_Fold the right side over first, and then the left. The belt wraps underneath that flap there,' _the voice said. Emlyn caught the amused tone.

"Yeah, sure, laugh at me. It's not my fault I've never worn Jedi robes," she muttered, following the instructions. Maybe it wasn't that difficult after all.

'_It's not very hard. You just have to get used to it, and then they're almost faster to put on than normal clothing.'_

_I'll believe it when it happens._

It had been only a couple hours since the Council had tested her and determined that she was indeed Force sensitive. They had also informed her that she was strong in the Force, to which Emlyn didn't know how to reply. She told them only the general outline of her life before coming to Corusant, as they requested. There were some things that she was not ready to talk about.

The room she had been assigned to was to be shared with another Jedi, she knew not who. It was not large, but not cramped. There were two single beds with simple, clean coverings, and simple, clean walls painted a soft green that went well with the brown floor. There were a few plants on her room mate's side, and an ornate mirror resting on the nightstand. Her own bed, drawers, and nightstand were empty other than her pack that she had thrown into the dresser, and her double-bladed lightsaber. She had enjoyed the surprise from the Council when they had asked to see it.

Turning her mind back to her robes, Emlyn had to admit that the robes and the cloak were really comfortable and freed her movement tremendously. "I think I could learn to live with it," she said as she experimented by bringing her left leg straight over her head.

"That's good to know."

Emlyn spun around, left foot still in the air. She lowered her leg quickly and bowed to the Jedi woman in the doorway. "Hi. Name's Emlyn," Emlyn said with a smile.

The woman smiled back. "I am Nadira. It is a pleasure to meet you, Emleen," she said, accented. Emlyn wondered what her accent was. Nadira was taller than Emlyn by about three inches with long, dark hair that was woven into an intricate pattern on her head, and brilliant gold eyes. Emlyn realized with a start that Nadira was not human; she had claws on her hands. Not that a non-human was unusual, she just looked like one.

"You are wondering what I am?" Nadira asked good-naturedly.

"Yes," Emlyn said, unable to ignore her curiosity.

"I would like to tell you, but I myself do not know, Emleen. Is that how you say your name?"

Emlyn smiled. "It's Em-lin actually, but whatever works."

"Well, Emlyn," Nadira began, carefully pronouncing the name, "It is time to spar. Bastila will be teaching today."

"She's a Master?" Emlyn asked as she took off her cloak and carefully hung it on the wall hook.

"No, but she is Council member," Nadira answered. Then, correctly reading Emlyn's look, "There are not enough Masters to have a full Council, so there are a few that are but Jedi Knights. Bastila has only recently been given the title."

"Ah," Emlyn said as she lifted her lightsaber from the chair she had set it on to change. She was always wary of leaving it behind.

The training room was a large area with a few windows that showed the blue afternoon sky. The sight took away whatever nervousness Emlyn might have been feeling before she walked into the room; she loved the sky, the rain, the sun and stars, and the wind. But mostly the stars. They were always there, no matter what planet she was on, and they were the same ones, unlike the sun or moon.

Emlyn turned her attention back to the room as a beautiful brown haired woman entered the room. _That must be Bastila._ Glancing around the room, Emlyn was surprised to see others around her, for she had not heard them enter. She had to be careful not to let her guard down like that again.

"Welcome, all of you. Please set your lightsabers on one of the holders and select a training saber," Bastila ordered. The students obeyed, carefully laying aside their weapons and taking a 'stinger', as Emlyn later learned that they were dubbed for their non-fatal pain when touched.

As she turned away from the rack containing training sabers, Emlyn froze in surprise as she came face to face with none other than Dustil Onaesi. He looked equally shocked as he stared at her. Then his mouth twitched slightly. Emlyn wasn't sure whether it was a smile or a sneer waiting to come out.

"This is the last place I'd expect to see you," he said finally, reaching for his own training saber.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Emlyn said sweetly, "But I'm on as a full time student."

"It'll be a pleasure to have you here, I'm sure," Dustil replied, "But why _are_ you here?"

"This may come as a shock to you, but this is a Jedi Temple, and Jedi are trained here," Emlyn said as though talking to a child.

"Are you always this sarcastic?"

"Only when I feel like it."

"Or when you don't know how else to be?" Dustil asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Emlyn felt annoyance and anger begin to grow in her stomach. _No, I am training to be a Jedi, and I must have control. There is no emotion, there is peace._ Giving a small smile, Emlyn replied, "Save your psycho babble for later, Onaesi; it's time to spar." Without looking back, she walked over to join the other apprentices lined up to begin practicing.

"Before we begin, we have a new student. Emlyn Trae, please walk forward," Bastila said once everyone was in line.

Emlyn stepped forward and bowed slightly first to Bastila, and then to her classmates. Bastila seemed a bit impressed as she motioned for Emlyn to rejoin the line. "I'll need to see you spar before I can gauge whether or not this class is too advanced for you," she said, "I'm not sure why the Council put you in this class, but I will not question them." Bastila glanced around at the students, her eyes lingering on Dustil.

_Please, no,_ Emlyn thought.

'_Why don't you like him, Emlyn?'_

_He's just so…_

"Dustil," Bastila said.

Frack. Emlyn swore that she could hear laughter inside her head. The two of them stepped forward and bowed slightly to Bastila and then to one another. "Take your stances," Bastila said, hands behind her back. Dustil stood erect, hands loosely at his sides, a smirk just barely evident on his face. Emlyn felt a strong urge to smack him.

"I sense irritation in you, apprentice," Bastila said to Emlyn.

"I'm sorry, Bastila. I will try to concentrate," Emlyn said respectfully.

"Good. In fact, you've raised a good subject for a lesson; I shall bring it up with Master Vrook for you afternoon lecture," Bastila said.

Emlyn could sense the withheld groans from the rest of the class and nearly winced. That didn't sound like much fun. "Ready…and begin," Bastila said.

Dustil did not go for his lightsaber, but merely watched to see what Emlyn did. At first she waited, but when he did not make a move she drew her saber and swung at him experimentally. Dustil had his saber out so fast that it nearly shocked Emlyn. He deflected her blow with ease and moved in with one of his own.

The dance began, she moved, he moved, they were testing each other's limits, not wanting to overdue. It soon became clear that they were both much more skilled than the other had previously suspected. The match soon sped up, the whirring of the sabers filling the room like a swarm of angry bees, the lights of the blades twirling about madly.

"You're not bad," Dustil said, smiling toothily, his face near to Emlyn's. She jerked back and swung at him, and he blocked her strike.

Emlyn desperately wanted to retort, but held her tongue in check; he was going to beat her, she could feel it. She fought valiantly, but as soon as he realized that he could exert more power on her, and he did so, she could feel her dominance slipping. She doubted that he was even using the Force yet. It irritated her that he was simply testing her limits, trying to see what she was capable of.

Dustil came at her from the right, she blocked, the left, she parried, overhead, underneath, behind her; his tactic was to confuse and tire her, and it was working. _I'm going to lose!_ She thought desperately.

'_That is not something to worry about. But you are not fighting your fullest; let the Force flow through you, Emlyn,_' the voice said softly.

Managing to escape Dustil's attacks for a split second, Emlyn took a breath and opened herself to the Force. She felt it flood through her system, filling her arms, legs, body, her mind. She felt Dustil go left before he actually struck, saw his feint before it came, and began to drive him back toward the wall.

"This has been really fun, Em, but it's time to end it," Dustil said, breathing almost as heavily as she was. Then he attacked with a speed and skill that surprised her; he was using the Force now. She fought back hard, very hard, but it was not enough. He was stronger, better trained, and soon she felt the heat of the tip of his saber at her neck. She had lost. She found herself thinking that it would normally bother more her to lose to him, but the fight had taken any ill feelings out of her. She should spar more often.

"Good, very good," Bastila said as Dustil drew his saber away from Emlyn's throat. She bowed to him, and he returned it.

"You're lucky I was tired, Onaesi," Emlyn said quietly, her face serious.

Despite her serious features, Dustil caught on. "I have a feeling you're going to stay that way, Em," he said with a smirk, "But if you want a rematch some time, I'm all for it."

Emlyn gave him a look for using a short name for her. "It's Emlyn," she said.

Before Dustil could reply Bastila was ordering them to rejoin the line of students. "You have talent, but lack discipline," she said to Emlyn, who wondered how she could tell that from one fight, and feeling a bit annoyed. She had been trained just fine.

"Pair up," Bastila commanded, "Emlyn, you will spar with me."

"Uh, sure," Emlyn said, stepping forward and bowing to Bastila.

* * *

Emlyn groaned as she landed on her cot, aching all over. She hadn't known there were so many muscles in the human body. Bastila had given her what for under the pretense of 'training' her. "I call it torture," she muttered to herself.

"You had fun in the training session, yes?" Nadira asked as she entered the room.

"Oodles," Emlyn muttered, trying to undo her belt without hurting something.

Nadira laughed softly and began to prepare for bed. "You will get used to it in time. Being a Jedi is not as easy as many think it is. Sometimes the training is so hard that you are unable to move for hours."

"Well, I feel better now," Emlyn said with sarcastic cheerfulness, "And here I was thinking I'd have a difficult time."

"You are strange, Emlyn," Nadira said unexpectedly, pronouncing her name carefully.

"How so?" asked Emlyn, working her way underneath the blankets and sighing in relief when she succeeded.

"You speak with much sarcasm…" Nadira began.

"Direct effect from growing up with parents like mine," Emlyn grunted.

"…And you have a strange presence around you," Nadira finished.

Emlyn looked at her curiously. "Presence? What do you mean by that?"

"There is something, or perhaps someone, very close to you all the time. I noticed it as soon as I saw you. It is hard to see, but it is there," Nadira explained.

_She must mean you,_ Emlyn said to the voice.

'_Perhaps, perhaps not. We shall see.'_

_Is being in the Temple affecting you enough to make you speak so cryptically? If so, I'm not sure coming here was such a good idea._

'_I'm simply unsure,' _the voice said indignantly, _'And you would do well to pay close attention to everything around you.'_

_When am I ever not alert?_

'_I don't think you want me to answer that.'_

"Emlyn?"

"Yes!" Emlyn said quickly, cutting off her other conversation, "What is it?"

"I'm sorry, were you falling asleep?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh. You were… meditating then?" Nadira asked.

"Uh…"

"I felt the Force spike around you."

"Oh. Well, I'm… really tired, so I guess I'll see you in the morning," Emlyn said, at a loss as to what to say.

"Yes, have pleasant fictitious images," Nadira said with a smile, flipping the light off.

Emlyn hesitated, confused. "You mean dreams?" But the only answer was a surprisingly loud snore from across the room. "Yeah…" Moving carefully onto her side, Emlyn settled in for a good night's rest.

* * *

"Are you going to finish that?" asked the Sullustan, gesturing to Emlyn's remaining slice of meat.

"No, but you can…"

The Sullustan snatched the food off her plate with lighting speed and began to dig in.

"...have it," Emlyn finished, watching with a mixture of fascination and alarm as Urik dug into the meat. She decided to stick to fruit. Letting out a quiet groan, she stretched her arms above her head, trying to relieve some of the stiffness of her limbs.

"Still sore from yesterday, Em," asked an annoyingly familiar voice.

"Go poke a frag mine, Onaesi," she told him.

"All giggles and pleasantries aren't we, Em?" he responded, not bothered in the least as he sat down across the table from her.

"And I suppose you like training sessions with Bastila?" Emlyn asked, glaring at him.

"Actually, she works me harder than most," he said matter-of-factly, taking a bite of an orange striped fruit that Emlyn did not recognize.

"Why's that?"

"Let's just say she's a friend of the family, and she believe in pushing friends," he said around a mouthful of food.

"Auntie Bastila?" Emlyn teased.

"Thankfully no; she knows my dad and step-mom from way back," Dustil replied, poking at a suspicious lump of matter on his plate. "Sometimes I wonder what this stuff actually is…" he murmured, sniffing suspiciously at the 'food', "Good case for take out, huh?"

Emlyn opened her mouth to reply just as they heard the signal that ended breakfast. Dustil, after giving the lump on his plate one last look, smiled, or rather smirked, at Emlyn and said, "See you in meditation!" He stood up and with a two fingered salute to her, walked away.

"I'll meditate, alright," Emlyn muttered under her breath as she glared at Dustil's retreating form, "I'll meditate you right into the planet core."

'_Touchy today, are you?'_

Emlyn just scowled as she made her way to the peaceful meditation room. Her annoyance faded away as she walked through the door; the room had a domed ceiling that reflected the tiniest bit of light, and there was a fountain in the upper right hand corner, both factors giving the chamber an open, airy feel. Emlyn didn't think she'd mind spending all morning in there.

Following the other students' lead, Emlyn stood on the outer edge of a wide silver ring on the floor. It had markings on the inside, but she couldn't read them. They seemed to be some sort of old, complex language, or so she thought.

Looking up from the floor Dustil Onaesi caught her eye and gave a small smirk. She wished for something heavy in her hands.

"Welcome, students," said a strange voice. It was Master Vandar. He walked into the room on his small legs and smiled at the Jedi. "Good to see you, it is. Meditate we will, and then onto fighting techniques we will go."

So Master Vandar was to have their afternoon lessons as well. All of the things she was learning amazed Emlyn, but none so much as Master Vrook's lectures; the man had an uncanny ability to know exactly the thing you were least interested in and go on about it for interminable minutes at a time, calling on you to contribute input just when you drifted off into your own thoughts.

"Sit with your legs crossed," Master Vandar said, watching as the students obeyed, "Now straighten your back and toward the wall behind you pull your shoulders."

Emlyn sat up straighter and roller her shoulders back.

"Out from underneath your legs keep your feet," Master Vandar said. Emlyn knew he meant her. She shifted so that the toes on her right foot her near the back of her left knee and touched her left heal to her right shin.

"By your stomach put your hands palms up," Master Vandar continued, "Out as far as you can, rotate them. Feel it stretch across your chest, you should."

Emlyn followed his instructions. "Find you center," Master Vandar said. Emlyn worked on settling into her position. She marveled at how comfortable the position actually was, although it had nothing on a soft Derilian cushion.

"Clear your mind," Master Vandar told them, "Feel the Force flow through you."

Taking a deep breath, Emlyn attempted to clear away all of the thought that twirled through her head. It worked. For a few seconds. Until she began to tell herself not to think.

_Okay, I know I'm thinking, but I need to. Alright, just… just let yourself go,_ Emlyn told herself sternly. Breathing rhythmically, Emlyn focused on the soothing song of the fountain and the whisper of the air as it danced through the room. "Relax," they seemed to say, "Let it all go…" Emlyn felt something strange just on the edge of her feelings. Without letting a thought go through her mind, she waited. The thing drew closer, enveloping her, embracing her, lifting her. She let it. It was the Force.

She could hear the heartbeats of her younger classmates, of Dustil, of Vandar. Then she heard the people beyond the room, beyond the Temple. And the heart of the planet. She nearly gasped when she felt the core of Corusant beating almost as though it was alive. Life. Beautiful.

The awareness moved to include a strange palpitation in the beat of the planet, almost like it was getting sick. Just as Emlyn began to focus in on whatever it was, it was gone.

"That is all for today." The voice snapped Emlyn out of her meditation. She was shocked at how relaxed she felt. "Out to the training ring," Master Vandar instructed.

Emlyn tried to copy the other Jedi as they flowed to their feet, but all she managed to do was get her foot caught on her legging and trip forward. She struggled to keep her face from getting hot as she made her way to the door.

"You did well today, apprentice," Master Vandar told her before she could leave.

"Thank you, Master," Emlyn replied with a bow, "It was… amazing. The Force… It's so… _alive._" Emlyn didn't know how else to say it.

Master Vandar smiled at her. "Alive it is. Support life, the Force does," he said, and then walked out the door.

"It is in all living things," Emlyn recited to herself as she followed him.

Saber practice was much harder than she thought it would be. The beginning stretched weren't bad, and neither was the warm up. The actual sparring though… Emlyn was once again paired with Dustil; the two of them were above the skills of the younger Jedi, who were all below thirteen. It made Emlyn feel old.

"Instruct you, Dustil will," Master Vandar told her, pointing to an open area to the right in the enormous open room. There were a few pillars here and there around the edges where Jedi could stand and watch the sparring.

"Wait," Emlyn said, confused, "I thought he was _student_."

"All are students to the Force," Master Vandar replied.

"No, I mean… Isn't Dustil a Padawan?"

"Passed his Trials last evening, he did," said Master Vandar.

"So he's…?" Emlyn trialed off and looked over to where Dustil was talking to an apprentice.

"A Jedi Knight, he is."

"Oh," Emlyn said in a small voice. Great. Now he could torment her on a whole new level. Just what she wanted.

'_He's very talented, as you are.'_

_Yeah, the only difference is he can kick my…_

"Ready to get started?" Dustil asked from behind Emlyn.

She turned around and looked him up and down. He did look pretty happy. She would be too if she had passed her Trials. "Yes, I'm ready," she said finally.

"Okay, you know your basics really well, and you have talent," Dustil said, not wasting any time, "But I'm going to teach you to feel the strikes before they happen, and without trying."

"Uh… Okay…" Emlyn said slowly. Then a terrifying thought struck her. "Am I your padawan?" she asked, alarmed.

"Not technically. I'm more like your tutor," Dustil said with a shrug.

"Short of teachers, we are," Master Vandar interjected, "Taught by Dustil, you will be. Learn much from him, you can. Partners, you are." With a last smile, Master Vandar walked away to assist other students. Emlyn wondered at the new method of teaching. But then again, it was almost the only way to go with so few Jedi left, most of whom were students. It was better than Dustil being her master, at any rate.

_If this day gets any better I might just consider suicide, _Emlyn thought to herself, scowling.

'_I wouldn't commit to that just yet…'_

_Why, you think things will get worse?_

"We'll start by having you run at that wall over there," Dustil said, pointing to the east wall, "With your eyes closed."

"What!" Emlyn hissed, "If you think I'm that stupid, buddy, you've got another thing coming!"

Dustil sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's a training technique, Em. Just trust me."

"As much as that krayt dragon you should be bothering," Emlyn said sweetly as she walked over to the wall.

"No more backtalk. I am teaching you, after all," Dustil said with humor. Then he became serious as he added, "But this relationship can't work if you don't trust me. We've got to learn to rely on one another and to trust without hesitation. We're supposed to be partners."

Emlyn sighed and bit the inside of her bottom lip. "I'm not so good at the trusting thing, ever since…" she stopped, "Never mind, it's not important."

Dustil looked her full in the face. "Yes it is. Tell me."

"I…I can't…" Emlyn stuttered, searching for a way to escape the conversation. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about; she had been running from it for three years now, and she was doing a good job of it. Then, realizing that Dustil would want some kind of explanation, she managed to get out a few words, an outline. "Someone… close to me betrayed me once. I trusted them with my life, and they broke me. I just… need to work through it," she said quietly.

"I understand," Dustil said after a moment. She could feel him studying her, could practically hear his unspoken words: I won't betray you. She shivered and turned her head away.

"What I want you to do is rush at the wall, without looking, and let the Force tell you when you're near enough to jump and push yourself off with your legs. If you want you can do a flip, but I wouldn't try it on your first time," Dustil told her.

Relieve to let the prior subject go, Emlyn nodded her head and stared at the wall. "Okay, here goes." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Let the Force be your eyes, your senses," Dustil said calmingly.

Emlyn opened her barriers that she kept around herself and let the Force through. She almost smiled.

"Now run."

Her feet carried her forward, closer and closer to the wall. There. It was right in front of her. She reached out with the Force and jumped at the wall, feeling her foot connect with the hard stone before she pushed off. She had done it! Unfortunately, in her excitement Emlyn had forgotten about her landing and ended up tripping across the floor, almost ending up flat on her face.

"Good!" Dustil said appraisingly when Emlyn opened her eyes. "Just remember that you'll come down."

Emlyn wanted to wipe the smirk off his face, but didn't think it would go over too well with Dustil. "Yes, oh wise and powerful Master. Instruct my tiny intellect in your superior techniques," Emlyn said teasingly, giving a mock bow.

Dustil laughed. She thought he had a friendly laugh. "It will take all my skills, I'm afraid," he returned.

"Wow, thanks for the overwhelming confidence."

"Anytime," Dustil said, flashing her a grin, "Let's try that again."

* * *

The next several months were hard work for Emlyn, but she had a better time at the Temple than she had had anywhere else in her life, even with Lea. She felt guilty thinking that, but it was true, and she thought it might also be that there were more people her age around.

She had a good time with Nadira, Urik, who hero worshiped Dustil and so was always around, Miranda, a twi'lek who was a couple year younger than her, Dustil, even though he drove her insane with his ludicrous but extremely affective training techniques, and she even enjoyed being with the Masters.

"Em! Em, wait up!" called Dustil, dodging students to reach her.

Emlyn looked up from her conversation with Nadira on how ridiculous men could be. "I'll talk to you later," Emlyn finished with a laugh. Nadira bade her goodbye and walked off. "What's up, Dus?" Emlyn asked her 'tutor', using the nickname that he disliked. Dustil didn't even blink at it.

"We're needed in the Council chambers immediately," he said, his face serious.

"What? Why? Is it urgent?" Emlyn asked.

"I don't know, but… can't you feel it?" he asked suddenly.

"Uh…"

"The Force. It's… different. Something's happened," Dustil said concernedly.

"You mean there's a disturbance in the Force?" Emlyn asked with humor.

Dustil raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, actually. But it's… strange. I don't know if I can explain it yet. Let's just get to the Council room."

"Okay," Emlyn said, beginning to feel uneasy. If Dustil, who could beat half the Masters on the Council in a saber battle, was nervous, what should she feel like?

"Hey, relax," Dustil said, as if reading her thoughts, "I'm here after all, right?" He smiled jokingly.

"Yeah, that makes me feel _loads_ better, Mr. dumping-my-lunch-tray-all-over-Emlyn-was-an-accident."

"Good to know. Hurry."

The Council was silent as the two Jedi entered and bowed respectfully. "We have just received word from the Republic that there has been a disturbance on Tatooine, possibly involving Sith assassins," Master Vrook said.

Emlyn saw a frown steal over Dustil's face.

"Sending you, the Council is," Master Vandar told them.

"There is a witness who is willing to tell what they saw," Master Vrook continued, "And you will meet them at the cantina near the ship dock. You are to investigate this occurrence and report back to the Council, nothing more. Do not engage the Sith in battle if at all possible."

"We understand, Master," Dustil said. Emlyn was silent.

"Further instructions will be given to you on the way. May the Force be with you."

* * *

Thanks to all who read this, and don't forget to **_REVIEW ._** : ) Constructive criticism is welcome. 

If you want to see the status of any of my stories (there are just three...hm) look on my profile, 'cause I'm still not sure about continuing any of them. I get sidetracked easily; I'll be doing one story and think of an idea for another, so I'll do that, and then it happens again. Gotta fix that habit, I know, but it can be fun! ; )


	3. Xjyn Poison

This chapter's shorter than the others, but I decided to end it where I did 'cause… it was late and I was tired, I guess. And I just realized that Master Vrook died in KotOR II! So goodbye Vrook, hello Vrook clone Chaldrin. Just imagine him as a younger Vrook-like guy. About forty something.

**Declaimer:** I really hope I don't go as nuts as some authors after a while of saying that I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS ANYTHING and that I am NOT MAKING ANY MONEY off of my story. Okay, just wanted to be clear.

Oh, and sorry for some strange errors in the story; the format on the website didn't like the program I used.

**_Review_** please. I like to know what readers think. Doesn't matter whether you have an account here or not, I just want feedback (CONSTRUCTIVE criticism too).

On with the story! (I'm taking too long).

* * *

**THREE**

"And the Council is sending the two of you?" Nadira asked curiously. Emlyn had just finished explaining the Council's assignment and Nadira was staring at her in an odd way.

Emlyn nodded, putting the last of her few possessions in her pack and checking over the room for something she might have missed.

"That could almost qualify as an honor," Nadira said.

"Why's that? I mean, I know it could be important…" Emlyn murmured as she snatched her data pad off of her nightstand. She certainly didn't want to leave that behind; she had recorded the events of the last several years on it, and didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands. She really needed to work on a made up language to translate it into, like she used to do when she was younger. The only problem was that she might forget the language.

"Because you are not even a padawan yet, and still you are sent on the mission," Nadira explained.

"Oh. Well I suspect that it's got more to do with Dustil than me," Emlyn said with a shrug, looking around for her extra saber crystals. She was thinking about changing the color to yellow instead of green. Dustil's was green and she wanted hers to be different. Although his was a brilliant emerald green, unlike the crystals on the planets she had visited. Emlyn made a mental note to ask him where he'd gotten it.

"I do not know about that. He is very talented, we all know that, but I have a feeling that you are just as much involved as he is, Emlyn," Nadira told her.

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm so important to the galaxy," Emlyn said with a teasing smile.

"Very well, make a joke of my words, but do say that I did not inform you beforehand," Nadira sniffed.

"You mean 'don't say you didn't tell me'?"

"Yes, that is what I said."

"Yeah…" Emlyn grinned and pulled her pack shut. She would miss Nadira, and hoped the mission wouldn't take _too_ long. But she was also very excited; it was her first assignment for the Jedi! Her, a Jedi! Sometimes she would wake up and think she was still on Belkadan with the trees above her and the sound of an ocean lulling her asleep or gently rousing her from her rest. She missed the planet, even with some of the lethal creatures that hid there. The view of the stars from the mountains was probably the thing she missed the most. Corusant was nice, but you couldn't see nearly as much of the night sky, which made Emlyn feel very closed in at times.

"I am going to miss your presence, Emlyn," Nadira said, interrupting Emlyn's thoughts.

"I'm going to miss you too," she responded with a small smile, walking over to Nadira and giving her a hug. "I have to go, but I'll contact you as soon as I can," she said, pulling back and picking up her bag.

"Yes. Have a safe journey, Emlyn, and may the Force be with you," said Nadira.

Emlyn nodded and left the room, making her way toward the hangar. When she arrived Dustil was deep in conversation with Master Chaldrin When she drew closer Dustil looked up and gave her a half smile. "Ready to head out?" he asked.

"Yep, got everything I need, and consequentially everything I own," Emlyn replied cheerfully.

"Do not take this mission lightly, apprentice; it is of utmost importance to find out what has transpiring on Tatooine," Master Chaldrin said sternly.

"Yes, Master," Emlyn replied automatically.

Looking skeptically at her, Master Chaldrin bade them goodbye and walked off.

"How long until we leave?" Emlyn asked, turning her gaze to Dustil.

"A couple hours at most. By the way, the Council wanted to see you before we left, so you might want to stop in," Dustil said. Emlyn was wary of the look on his face. He knew something she didn't. Shocking.

"What is it about?" she asked, restraining herself from putting her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"Can't tell you, but I'd hurry," Dustil advised.

"Yeah, yeah. Here, hold my pack, will you? Wouldn't want to look like I'm eager to leave their presence, would I?" Emlyn joked, handing her bag to Dustil.

"Good luck," he said as she walked away.

Emlyn was feeling nervous by the time she reached the Council room; what could they possibly want? Despite liking quite a few of them, Emlyn didn't fully trust them.

"Greetings, apprentice," Master Vandar said after she bowed to the Council, "Meeting to discuss your tests, we are."

"My… what?" Emlyn asked, confused.

"Become a padawan, you will," Master Vandar clarified, "If pass three tests, you do."

* * *

Dustil smiled to himself as he fiddled with the hyperdrive on the ship. Emlyn would be undergoing her test right about now. He couldn't wait to congratulate her, for he knew she would pass. Normally an apprentice would be an official Jedi the moment they were accepted, but things were different with adults. Revan had had to undergo tests, and so had Dustil when he'd come for training. But all three of them were strong in the Force, or so the Masters said, so they were special cases. 

Just as he finished his modifications to the hyperdrive, Dustil heard approaching footsteps and looked up. Emlyn walked toward him at a calm pace, staring straight at him. "So how'd it go?" Dustil asked.

"It was very well thought out by the Masters, and I have learned many things that I need to improve in regards to myself, but I have passed the tests," Emlyn said calmly.

Dustil cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering if she'd accidentally cut part of her brain out with her lightsaber to be talking like that. It just wasn't… _her._ Then he noticed the corners of her mouth twitching.

She threw back her head and laughed; a loud, happy sound that made Dustil want to laugh with her. "I passed! I did it! I'm a _Jedi_!" she laughed happily. Then she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. Dustil hesitated for a moment before hugging back. Emlyn pulled back and smiled at him. "I mean, I was a Jedi before, but now I can say that I'm Council approved," she joked. She glanced around and her eyes landed on the small ship they would be taking to Tatooine. "Where's our pilot?" she asked Dustil, "I thought we were supposed to be taking off like, now."

"You're looking at him," Dustil said, smirking slightly at her alarmed expression.

"I think I need to meditate," Emlyn said, putting a hand to her forehead, looking horrified. Dustil had no doubt that she was remembering the sessions they'd had in the flight simulator. They had been… lethal, to say the least, with him piloting.

Dustil glared and threw her pack at her, which she caught neatly in her right hand before laughing. "Very funny. Just remember that when you're stranded on Tatooine because your pilot took off on you," Dustil told her. "I'm just bad at simulators. My dad taught me to fly when I was five, and I'm a better pilot than anyone on this planet."

"I will remember your wise words, most supreme Master pilot," Emlyn said, saluting him.

"Just get on the ship," Dustil sighed, trying to look more annoyed than he felt.

Several hours and part of a hyper route later, Emlyn entered the cockpit with two cups of steaming liquid and a plate of some kind of bread Dustil didn't recognize. "Figured you could use something to eat," Emlyn said cheerfully, setting the plates on an empty spot on the control consul before handing Dustil a cup.

"Thanks," he said appreciatively, sipping at the hot tea. He glanced down at the bread; it was brown with dark chunks of something in it, but it smelled better than hot Telosian sausages. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the bread.

"It's something my mom used to make for me when I was little. If it has a name, I don't remember it. But it's really good, and it'll give us energy," Emlyn said, taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair.

Dustil lifted his slice of bread and bit into it. A barrage of flavors attacked his taste buds. He tasted some kind of nut, spices, a sugar of some sort, and another flavor that he couldn't recognize. When he asked Emlyn about it she said, "It's something called cinnamon, from the planet Terra. It's a very primal planet, and it's now such a protected area that no one can get near it. Got the cinnamon before it was closed off though, my ancestors did."

"Ah, so they were smugglers."

"No! That is not what I meant, Onasi! I just meant that it was found before setting foot there was illegal," Emlyn snapped.

"Someone's not getting enough sleep," Dustil said, eyebrow raised.

"Hey, I…!" Emlyn stopped, paused, and then gave a short laugh. "I guess I am a bit on edge," she admitted.

"Why's that?" Dustil asked, finishing off his hunk of bread. He was tempted to ask for the recipe, but didn't want to find out what kind of chaos he would unleash in the kitchen; he'd never been good at cooking.

Emlyn shrugged. "I'm just a bit nervous about the mission," she said. When Dustil gave her a disbelieving look, she added, "And I don't like Tatooine. Too much sand, one too many suns, and sand people; I don't like them at all."

Dustil snorted into his tea and had to wipe his face when it sprayed all over him.

"I just think they're creepy, okay?" she snapped, glaring at him.

Coughing the tea out of his throat, Dustil tried to say something to her, but choked.

"Shut up," Emlyn muttered, grabbing the plates and marching out of the cockpit. Dustil cleared his throat several times before the tea stopped burning. He sought out Emlyn's presence in the Force and was glad to find that she was not really angry at him. The last thing he needed was for a female Jedi to be mad at him; he'd heard enough about that from his father and had had a few too many experiences himself with woman Jedi.

Dustil closed his eyes and reached out again, feeling the ship. He listened to the hyperdrive, making sure that it wasn't ticking at all, indicating that it needed to be repaired. He listened to the droid, T7 something, and discovered that he had a faulty wire somewhere near his modulator. Then something stabbed brutally at his mind and tore him from his thoughts. What was _that?_ He'd never had that happen before.

Reaching out again, he carefully searched for another presence. Ah, there it was. It was a dark, pulsing blob in his mind's eye. He wondered why he hadn't felt it before. Quickly engaging the autopilot program, Dustil kept his hand near his lightsaber and went to find Emlyn. Something was on the ship, and it wasn't a friend.

* * *

Emlyn washed the dishes quickly, not knowing how to use the automatic washer, and made her way to the cargo hold. It wasn't terribly large, but neither was it too cramped to practice with her lightsaber. She had gotten in a lot of practice over the years on her enemies, but only a few of them had been Force sensitive, and she wanted to be prepared if, or more likely _when_, they met up with the Sith. 

Closing her eyes, she reached out to the Force and drew her lightsaber. She started her dance with it, flowing across the room, feeling peace fill her. After a minute she switched of her weapon and just stood, the Force flowing around and through her. She felt around her, the ship, outside the ship. She felt the planets flash by faster than someone could blink, some full of life, others lifeless, some she could not tell.

"Emlyn."

Emlyn's eyes snapped open and caught sight of Dustil standing in the doorway, looking extremely wary. Mentally berating herself for being so busy with outside the ship as to ignore the inside and not sense Dustil's approach, she asked, "Yes?"

"Something's here. I don't know what, but it isn't friendly," Dustil said in a low voice.

Rising quickly to her feet, Emlyn's lightsaber was in her hand immediately. "Did you feel it?"

"Yes, and it's all dark. It's… pulsing, oozing. I don't know how else to describe it," Dustil said quietly.

Emlyn reached out and felt around the ship, but could not sense anything out of the ordinary. "Are you sure?" she asked Dustil, "I can't feel a thing."

"It's there. I think it tried to take over my mind," he said darkly.

_Sith,_ her mind screamed. But no, not every creature of the dark was Sith. "Can you tell where it is?"

Dustil was silent for a moment, and then shook his head. "No. It's like it's moving, but I can't see how that's possible without us noticing."

"Is it cloaked?"

"I can see through cloaks," Dustil said absently, gazing around the cargo hold.

Emlyn's eyebrow's rose in surprise. He as a man of many talents. Secrets too, probably. "Nothing?" she asked after he had examined the room.

"It's here," he whispered, his dark brown eyes flying across the room.

Gripping her lightsaber, Emlyn tried to calm herself and ignore the alarms that were blaring in her head.

'_Open your mind.'_

_What?_

'_I'll show it to you,' _the familiar voice of Lea said.

_Very well._

She closed her eyes, and then gasped. She could see! Her sightless vision was fuzzy, gray, and nearly impossible, but there. _What is this?_ Emlyn asked Lea.

'_How I see things, now,' _she replied, _'Look.'_

Emlyn shifted her gaze and nearly screamed. Crouching in the corner of the room was the ugliest creature that she had ever 'seen'. It had warts covering all of its decay colored skin. Its eyes were huge and bulging without pupils, its hands large and knobby. It was humanoid in appearance, but crouched on all fours like a beast. It's mouth stretched from large, pointy ear to large, pointy ear, and had three rows of sharp metallic teeth that matched its razor claws in material.

It looked right at her.

**:Descendent of Melyora, you are mine:** The voice burned Emlyn's mind like fire, blinding her. Emlyn screamed in pain.

"Dustil, the corner!" she gasped, hitting the ground on her knees, pointing to the creature.

Igniting his lightsaber, Dustil faced the corner Emlyn had pointed to. He couldn't see anything, but he didn't need to; he was hit with the strongest sense of dark Force power he'd ever felt. Rushing at the creature, Dustil attacked. The thing dodged and Dustil turned with it, striking out.

A hiss filled the air as the creature was wounded. Emlyn saw it turn its hate filled eyes on Dustil, who looked calmly back. The creature turned and lunged at Emlyn, who rolled to the side, but felt an iron grip encircle her ankle and send icy, metallic pain shooting through her body.

"Emlyn!" Dustil cried out, dashing to her side. He reached out with the Force and pushed the creature back. It didn't move. He reached out to the Force, lunging with his saber. The thing hissed and deflected the hit, but Dustil pulled out a second saber and struck.

Emlyn struggled to stay conscious as a poison spread through her body from the hand of her captor. She couldn't move from the moment the thing touched her.

Dustil lashed out again and managed to drive the creature away from Emlyn, and he kept going, attacking relentlessly. It attacked from behind him, he blocked with his saber covering his back, the thing attacked him from the side, and he blocked, struck and repeated. Soon the creature was cowering in the corner of the cargo hold, its breaths coming hard.

**:You are worthy, son of Morgana, the daughter of Kile. You have won:**

Dustil heard the voice inside his head, burning, biting. The creature gazed at him with blank eyes. What was he worthy of? At the moment, killing the creature, he thought to himself. "What are you?" Dustil asked.

**:You have defeated me. I will answer. I am of the Xjyn: **

"Why did you try to kill Emlyn Trai?" Dustil demanded warily.

The creature laughed, and then died. It collapsed in on itself, began to smoke, and was nothing more than a pile of ashes in mere moments.

"Frack," Dustil cursed, surprising himself with the profanity. He'd thought he'd beaten that habit. He turned quickly to Emlyn and knelt down by her. He checked her pulse and felt a thrill of terror flash through him. It was faint and irregular. She was dying.

Emlyn moaned weakly. She muttered something Dustil couldn't hear. Without hesitation he picked her up and carried her to the med bay, laying her out on the bed. "Hold on, Emlyn," he commanded, not wanting to think of what would happen if… No, she would live. As long as he had anything to say about it, she wouldn't die. And he had everything to say about it.

Dustil ran quick tests over her and found that a foreign poison was spreading through her body at an alarming rate. If it reached her heart she would die. He had no way to stop the poison. Looking around, Dusil knew that even kolto wouldn't save her. He needed an antidote…

Going on a hunch, Dustil raced back to the cargo hold and brushed the Xjyn ashes aside. Below them saw a gleaming liquid-like jewel the size of a pebble. He had heard of poisonous creatures leaving the antidote behind when they died, and he hoped it was true in this case. Picking the jewel up with a scrap of cloth from the floor, Dustil ran back to the medbay.

"Hold on, Emlyn," he said as he ran a fast diagnostic on the strange jewel. It wasn't poisonous, quite the contrary. By the machine's charts it had twenty times the healing power of kolto. He grabbed in and turned to Emlyn, opening her mouth and putting it inside just as her heart monitor went flat.

"NO!" Dustil shouted, putting the jewel down her throat. He saw her body heal itself through the Force, but her heart did not beat. "Emlyn!" Without a thought, Dustil threw himself across the receding thread of Force attached to her body. He yanked at it, refusing to let it go. "Don't fight me," he whispered, and then dove into the Force.

It was dark, and cold; metallic almost. A shadow walked away from him. _:Emlyn: he called out to her. She turned slowly, her feet sliding slightly on the smooth, dark surface of the place. Dustil didn't like the look of it.  
_

_:Dustil: She began to vanish._

_Dustil grabbed onto the thread of her life harder, and _pulled_. She cried out and spun to face him. :Come back with me: he said:You need to live. You're life isn't over, Emlyn:_

_:I can't do it. I can't save her: Emlyn murmured._

_Dustil didn't know what she was talking about, and he didn't care. :Yes you can! I'll help you: he told her reassuringly._

_She hesitated, afraid. So very afraid. :Promise:_

_:I promise:_

_Dustil pulled as hard as he could at her life thread, leading her life Force back to the world of the living._

Emlyn gasped, air filling her lungs, her heart beginning to pump blood once more. Dustil opened his eyes and looked down at her in a daze. He'd never done anything like that before. "Emlyn?" he asked uncertainly. She didn't answer, but he knew she was going to make it. He sighed in relief, feeling very tired.

"Thank you," Emlyn whispered, then, with a frown, "What are you worthy of?"

Dustil jumped and looked down at her. "Emlyn!" he exclaimed.

Her violet eyes opened and blinked slowly at him. She stared at him for a moment before muttering, "Let me rest, nerf-herder," with a small smile on her lips.

Dustil took that as another thank you. He nodded and stood up, walking slowly toward the door. "If your sure," he said.

Emlyn nodded ever so slightly before closing her eyes. Dustil was relieved to note that her breathing was slow and steady. She would make it. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened to her if that antidote hadn't been there. Dustil _hoped_ that was what it was. It had halted the poison and dispelled it, and without that she would have died, but what about any side affects? He would handle them if they came. No use worrying about something totally unsure.

Deciding that he would get something to drink and then come back, hopefully finding Emlyn still sleeping, Dustil made one last check of her vitals and was satisfied. Just as he exited the room he felt something odd. He studied it. It almost felt like a… No, it couldn't be. But…

The realization hit him with the force of a speeding swoop racer: He had formed a Force bond with Emlyn.

* * *

That is so totally not the way I saw this chapter. Wow. But whatever. It just kinda came out, so here it is. 

At first I stopped at "She was dying," but then I wanted to add more, so I did. Hope you liked it. Didn't plan it the way it came out, but that's that, I suppose. I'll update as soon as I can.

**_REVIEW._** Thank you!

Note: I try to let people know if I'm not going to be working on a story for a while, so check my profile if there hasn't been an update in a while. It should say something about it.


	4. History

Here's the fourth chapter. Don't know what else to say. Have a good one!

**Declaimer: **I do not own anything except the character of Emlyn, and I don't even really own anything about her other than what I made up minus anything that is in Star Wars.

* * *

**FOUR**

Emlyn woke up from a very odd dream involving a bothan stunner and two gizka and heard the sound of the ship's hyper drive disengaging. That had to mean one of three things: they were either being attacked and would have to fight for their lives, the ship had serious mechanical problems, or they had arrived on Tatooine. She hoped for the last option as she climbed out of her bed in the medical bay. Although she'd gone through the others not so long ago during her own travels.

For a few moments she did nothing more than stare at the metal ceiling of the ship, thinking about the time Lea had taken her to the refugee center on Nar Shadaa to see the people that needed help. Thinking back on her life, Emlyn realized that she really didn't have a place to call 'home,' and that she had spent a lot of time traveling across worlds. That wasn't so bad; she loved to keep moving, but it would have been nice to have a base, or a safe haven to retreat to.

The sound of several beeps caught Emlyn's attention and she turned to see the droid T7 watching her as intently as a droid could. "Yeah, I feel a lot better," she told him with a smile as changed into an outfit laid out for her, apparently by Dustil. It was another set of Jedi robes, so it wasn't like she would have chosen anything different. Or maybe she should; they were going to be undercover, right? She'd ask the Grand Pilot himself as soon as she could.

"Deet deet deeee…"

"That's where I'm going," Emlyn told T7 as she made her way to the cockpit. Dustil was busy messing with the controls and communicating with the control towers on Tatooine. It looked like he had handled the landing prep well. Emlyn was just glad the ride hadn't been like in the simulator at the Temple.

"How's your head?" Dustil asked, surprising Emlyn. She blushed a bit, realizing that she had been watching him for the past few minutes.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," she replied, taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair. She glanced over the landing information without really seeing it. "Dustil," she started. He looked up at her expectantly. "I…I don't really remember what happened. I mean, what was that thing, and how did it get on the ship? How long was I out for?"

"You were out for a few days, actually, and it's called a Xjyn, or so I was told," Dustil informed her, punching some buttons on the control pad.

"Why did it attack us?"

"It died before it would say."

Emlyn hesitated for a moment, trying in vain to remember more clearly. Soon they touched down on the surface of Tatooine. She gazed out at the endless sand with a glum expression on her face. She hated sand.

"Sand isn't so bad after you get used to it. Sometimes, anyway," Dustil said.

"Yes it is. I didn't grow up around it, but I don't like so much of the stuff; it gets _everywhere_," Emlyn insisted. _The only thing worse would be an ocean planet, 'cause I can't swim, _she thought to herself. She'd wanted to learn as a child, but her father had made the experience terrifying. She frowned when she thought about him forcing her to go underwater to 'get used to it' until she had become terrified of the water. Shaking her head, Emlyn pushed the past out of her head and looked over at Dustil. "Should we change into street clothing to blend in, or are we staying in our robes?" she asked him.

Dustil had an odd look on his face. Emlyn couldn't place it very well, but it looked like a mixture of surpise and anger. "Are… you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Me? Yeah, fine," he said, running a hand through his floppy dark brown hair. "Yes, street clothes would be best. Do you have any? I don't think I told you to bring some."

"I have them. What, you didn't find them when you picked out my robes for me?" Emlyn asked teasingly.

Dustil rolled his eyes. "No. Believe it or not I didn't go rooting through your things, Miss Paranoia."

"You don't have room to talk, buddy," Emlyn pointed out as she rose from her seat. "I'm going to go change. Meet you on the landing pad in five minutes."

Four minutes and fifteen seconds later Emlyn walked off the ramp of the ship to find Dustil negotiating the docking fees. Finally he seemed to reach an agreement with the man, who walked away looking happy. "How much did you pay him?" Emlyn asked, coming up on Dustil's left.

"Enough," was all he said.

Emlyn noticed that he still looked troubled, but she couldn't think of a reason why, unless something had happened with the… creature thing that she didn't know about. Emlyn opened her mouth to ask him about it, but was distracted when she noticed what he was wearing. He wore dark pants, brown boots, a white shirt, and a dark brown jacket. The cut and style of the clothing looked great on him. Emlyn caught herself staring and quickly looked away.

"Nice outfit," Dustil said as he looked through a data pad.

"Thanks," Emlyn said. She thought so; her shirt was a sunset orange with three-quarter length sleeves, dark pants, and a jacket to keep the sand out. Not that it would work very well, but it would help.

"According to this," Dustil said, indicating the data pad, "Our contact will meet us in the Hunting Lodge."

_Great, a den full of men with egos the size of Yavin 4,_ Emlyn grumbled to herself. She glanced up at Dustil and saw that he had that expression on his face again. Emlyn scowled. "What?" she snapped.

"Emlyn, there's something…" Dustil started but was interrupted by an approaching rodian.

"Ah! There you are, friends. I believe you what you need lies this way," he said.

Emlyn didn't like the look in his buggy eyes. "What do you want?" she asked him warily.

"To help," he replied.

Not trusting him, but deciding that Dustil should make the descision, Emlyn glanced at her companion. He looked perfectly calm, but Emlyn could tell that he was just as wary of this rodian as she was. "Why do you want to help us?" he asked at last.

"Because there is something that needs to be taken care of, friend," the rodian said.

"Which is?"

"I do not think such things should be discussed in such a place. Please follow me and I will explain everything to you."

Dustil looked at Emlyn, who bit the inside of her bottom lip and shrugged. "Fine, but if this is a trap, beware."

The rodian nodded and motioned for them to follow. They exited the docking area and walked into the settlement. Emlyn shuddered at the thought of living in a place like Tatooine. There were as many shady characters as there was carbon scoring from blasters, and that wasn't a small number.

"Just around this corner, friends," the rodian informed them, disappearing behind a wall.

Dustil gave Emlyn a look that warned her to be ready, and she glared back; she could take care of herself, and she had done so for years.

Around the corner were two people in black assassin clothing and the rodian who was looking terrified. "I could not refuse them. They would have killed my family. Please do not blame me," he pleaded. Dustil gave him a pitying look, much to Emlyn's confusion; the rodian had just sold them out, and Dustil was feeling sorry for him?

"Jedi, surrender and you will not be harmed," one of the assassins intoned.

"Leave us alone. We do not want a fight," Dustil said calmly, "But if you attack us we will defend ourselves."

_Let's just get to the blows,_ Emlyn thought impatiently. The two of them were obviously not going to give up, so why even bother?

"Everyone deserves a chance, and it was only fair to warn them," Dustil told her.

Emlyn gaped at him. "How did you…?"

"Enough chatter! Our master wants to speak to you, Jedi," the left assassin said.

"I'm afraid we have somewhere to be," Dustil said, "But we do have some questions for you."

"You will not cooperate? Then we will take you forcibly." The assassins leaped into action, red sabers in hand.

Dustil jumped to meet them, his lightsaber slicing through armor and flesh. Emlyn was on the other assassin, fighting him back into a corner. He was pretty good, but not good enough. She swung her saber downward and ended his life. Looking over to where Dustil was, she saw that he had already done away with the other Sith and was talking with the rodian.

"Please do not kill me, master Jedi! I was only trying to protect my family," he was pleading to Dustil.

"I'm not going to kill you, but I do think that you should get off Tatooine as soon as possible; when more Sith arrive to find out why these two haven't hauled us away, they won't be happy when they find you," Dustil warned the rodian.

"But my business is here! I cannot leave and let my family starve!" the rodian wailed.

"You have a chance of making it on another less hostile world, but none if you stay here," Emlyn interjected.

"I will not let my family starve. I will hide from the Sith," the rodian insisted.

Emlyn knew that such a thing would not be possible. "Then you condemn your family to death," she said flatly.

The rodian hesitated.

"I would suggest Manaan," Emlyn continued, "They need more shop keepers and it is relatively safe there." She knew full well that the rodian was not a shop keeper; she could feel it. But she felt that he might be able to give them information that would help them.

"I do not keep a shop," the rodian said reluctantly.

"We know," Dustil said, "We need you to tell us where you met these Sith and what they were doing here. And don't lie to me by saying you don't know."

The rodian looked around nervously. "I suppose I should tell you; you did save my life… Yes, I'll tell you. They here to stop you from investigating the Sith appearances here on Tatooine."

"Why, and who sent them?" Dustil asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"They did not want you to follow their trail. They were sent by someone named…" the rodian let out a gurgling sound and pitched forward onto the ground.

Emlyn and Dustil had their lighsabers out in a millisecond, their eyes darting around for the assassin. They saw and felt no one. Dustil walked over to the rodian and sorrowfully looked him over, searching for the cause of death. After a while he said, "Cardiac arrest," he said in confusion.

"What? That's not… He wasn't killed?" Emlyn asked, kneeling next to him.

"I didn't say that," Dustil said grimly. He moved his hands over some of the main rodian arteries, and after a few minutes found what he was looking for. "Feel here," he told Emlyn, taking her hand right hand in his left and putting it on the artery.

"It's…hard," Emlyn murmured.

"Yeah. My guess is that they put whatever material this is inside of him, and whatever the stuff is it responds to a high frequency sound that they emitted from somewhere not far from here, causing it to expand and cut off the blood to his heart. But that's just a guess," Dustil said.

Emlyn snorted. "Yeah, that was my first supposition too."

"I'm not sure what it is; there are several possibilities that I know of, and even then I might be wrong," Dustil mused. "But feel that? I suspect it's a form of nylex." He moved Emlyn's hand so that she could feel the whole lump under the rodian's skin.

"That's horrible!" she gasped. The lump was contained by the walls of the artery that had been stretched very tight. It would have been an extremely painful death. "If I knew who did this…" she muttered.

"Speaking of that, we shouldn't stay here too long," Dustil said, releasing her hand.

Emlyn nodded, rubbing her right hand with her left one. "Did I hurt you?" Dustil asked, noticing her action. She quickly shook her head. "Alright. I don't know what else to do for this guy other than put him where someone will find him; we would be in huge trouble if we were caught with him," Dustil said.

"Yeah… I just feel bad for his family," Emlyn said quietly. She shook her head, loosening the sad thoughts from her mind and directing her focus to their current mission. She had seen beings die, and it was painful, but it would happen to them all eventually. _Some sooner than others,_ she thought sadly, looking up at Dustil. He was staring at her strangely again. She snorted, annoyed.

"Do you do that all the time?" he asked her, taking her arm and leading her away from the death scene.

"Only when I'm annoyed," she retorted, "And with you around it's going to continue." Looking around, she spotted a small alley and pulled him into it.

"Hey, you know Jedi are supposed to resist things like this," Dustil joked as they stood close together in the small space.

"Shut up. You know that's not… forget it. What's going on, Onasi? You've been giving me weird looks all day, and on top of the thing when you read my mind or whatever… Talk," she said.

"I've actually been trying to tell you ever since you woke up, but I waited for a bit while you recovered, and after that I just kept getting interrupted," Dustil said, crossing his arms.

"Point, Onasi," Emlyn said.

"Fine. We have a Force bond," Dustil replied.

Emlyn gaped at him. "We have a what? Please tell me you just said a bounty on our heads."

"Well, maybe that too, by now," Dustil said thoughtfully, "But no. I formed it accidentally when I stopped you from dying."

"I almost died?"

"Yeah…"

"And you saved me?"

"Yes."

Emlyn rose onto her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek. When she pulled back she almost laughed at the shocked expression on Dustil's face. "That was for saving my life," she said, smiling. Then the smile vanished and she shoved him back into the wall behind him. "And that's for binding me to you without my say so!" With that she stalked out of the alley and marched toward the Hunting Lodge.

Dustil stood there for a moment, stunned, before coming to his senses and laughing. He quickly hurried after her and fell into step with her. "So, any questions?" he asked.

"What the heck does a Force bond do?" was his answer.

"It means we're connected by the Force. If you feel for it, you'll notice a line that links us. We can hear each other's thoughts and feel emotions unless we block them, and we'll probably end up knowing more than we want to about each other," Dustil told her.

"How fun," Emlyn muttered, "Is there a way to sever them?" She felt between her and Dustil. He was right; there was a thin thread of Force that connected the two of them. That was all she needed. _What if he finds out…?_ She began to worry, but shook it off and continued to listen to Dustil.

"Yes, but it's usually painful, tedious, and possibly fatal. Plus the Council would have to take a very long time evaluating it and assessing all the aspects, and then they might cut the connection, but we might die in the process," Dustil said cheerfully.

"This day just gets better all the time," Emlyn replied, just as chipper, "First assassins, now a possibly lethal bond! My, my! Now all we need is to run into some psycho and I'll be happy."

"Check out the one on my left," Dustil said, looking to his left at her.

"If I was in a worse mood you'd be laying in the med bay, Onasi," Emlyn told him, knowing full well that he could beat her into the ground if he wanted.

Dustil just smirked at her.

_I'd love to just smack that look right off his smug face! _Emlyn thought.

_:Give it your best shot, Em: said Dustil's cheerful voice in her head._

_:Don't do that! I want my thoughts left alone unless I invite you in: she snapped._

_:Then block them so I don't have to hear: Dustil retorted._

_:And just how do I do that? I'm not normally a closed person: She heard Dustil make a disbelieving sound in her mind before he answered._

_:Just throw up walls around the stuff you don't want me to hear or feel. It won't work with stronger emotions or anything, but it should handle the majority: Dustil told her. _

Emlyn decided she didn't want to think about her own bond much more, since it wasn't a good thing, in her mind, but she couldn't stop herself from asking another question. "How do you know so much about Force bonds?" Emlyn asked him aloud, "There isn't much known about them, and yet you seem to be an expert. Speaking from experience?"

"Nah, heard it second hand," Dustil said, shrugging. "Hey, we're here," he said as Emlyn opened her mouth to say something else. They had arrived in front of a building that looked a lot like all the others accept for the arrogant sign that let them know that they were at the Hunting Lodge.

"'Where beast hunts beast'?" Emlyn read, wrinkling her nose at the words. "Wonderful. I woke up thinking, 'hey, let's spend the day conversing with brainless bantha lice!'"

"You seem to have a high opinion of this place," Dustil remarked.

"Yeah, it was great having the idiot men from here hitting on me the whole six months I spent on this planet," Emlyn said, "Believe it or not there aren't many human women on Tatooine."

"Sarcasm seems to be your thing," Dustil said absently as he pushed the door open. "Hey, when did you live here?" he asked curiously as they walked into the sand colored room, small fans twirling above their heads.

"A couple years ago, about," Emlyn told him, observing the men, twi'leks, gamorrians, rodians, and various other beings either sitting alone or going on and on about some creature they'd slain.

"What were you doing here?" Dustil continued.

Emlyn frowned a bit. "I was being trained in the ways of the Jedi," she said.

"Here?"

"Here and there, a bit of everywhere."

They took seats in a corner of the room while Dustil looked around. "I don't see our contact yet," he murmured, then turning his gaze on Emlyn, who was staring intently at the floor, asked, "Who taught you?"

"A woman named Lea Polien. She took care of me after my mother died and my father left me on Nar Shadaa. He ran out of money, so he sold me to the highest bidder," Emlyn said casually. She glanced up and saw Dustil frowning at her. She was relieved to find no trace of pity; she hated getting anyone's pity, and was glad Dustil knew that. She did see sorrow, however.

"How old were you?" he asked quietly.

"I was eleven," she replied, "My mother died when I was nine, and my father… kept me around for a couple of years, and then sold me to some lower Exchange thug for a slave."

"What happened?" Dustil asked hesitantly.

Emlyn looked down at her hands, studying the lines and curves intently. "Nothing really bad," she said, head still bent. She could feel Dustil's brown eyes on her hair, and could feel his emotions through their bond; anger, sorrow, concern. "I was beaten a lot, but I was never… used. Luckily the thug was some kind of buggy creature and had no interest in human girls," Emlyn said.

"Is that where your scar came from? The beating?"

"Which scar?" Emlyn said with a short laugh, "I have several, and not even half are from Sbenklad. That was his name."

"The scar just by your hairline, the long white one," Dustil clarified.

"Oh, yeah, that was from my father," Emlyn said with a shrug, trying to look unconcerned, but she knew Dustil could feel the hurt inside her. "I don't keep it all bottled up," she told him, "Lea helped me work through it. I'm just still healing. Not all scars are on the skin."

"So Lea rescued you?"

"Yeah, she was a Jedi sent to investigate Sbenklad. She wasn't very happy when she saw the state I was in. Lea bought me and set me free, and then offered to train me as a Jedi. She didn't tell the Council. I think she knew what was going to happen, but didn't have a way to stop it," Emlyn said, losing herself in her thoughts. She had suspected Lea of receiving visions on occasion, and though Lea never said anything about it, it was a distinct possibility.

They sat in silence for a moment before Emlyn felt a warm hand on her own. She looked up quickly came face to face with Dustil. His look told her that if she ever needed anything, he would be there for her. She felt a rush of gratitude toward him for not giving her his pity, and for simply being there. Reaching out gingerly with her mind, she brushed his consciousness. Tentatively, she spoke words in her mind, making sure he would hear them. :_:Thank you:_

_:For what:_

_:For being my friend, stupid:_

Dustil laughed out loud and took his hand off of hers. Emlyn smiled at him and leaned back in her chair. "So what about you, Onasi? Got any dark secrets that I can drag out of you?"

"Something tells me I haven't gotten all of yours out of you yet," Dustil said, a bit of a smirk on his face.

"That would be a correct assumption, but that's all you can have for now. So what was your childhood like? You lived on Telos, I know, and you're an only child."

"My father is a war hero, and has been for a long time. He was in the Mandalorian War under Revan, and then in the Jedi Civil War against Revan," Dustil said, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"What are you looking at me like that for? I'm just curious. Is he a pilot, your dad?" Emlyn asked.

"Yeah, one of the best in the Republic if not the top one. I was sure for the longest time that he had to be Force sensitive, but he isn't at all, and that makes his skills even more amazing," Dustil told her.

"Wait," Emlyn said, holding up a hand as a thought struck her square in the head, "Your dad isn't Admiral _Carth Onasi_, is he?"

"That's him," Dustil said, grinning.

"So you know Revan?"

"Better than you'd think. She was the one who convinced me to leave the Sith Academy on Korriban where I was taken after my home world was bombed any my mother was killed," Dustil said, "I was angry with my father about that for a while, but it really wasn't his fault."

Emlyn had been in mid swallow when she heard his words, and choked on her spittle. "You were a _Sith?_" she asked incredulously.

"Top student," he replied.

"And now?"

"Now I'm a Jedi, but still one of the best students," he said, giving her a toothy grin.

"Careful, Onasi; if your ego gets any bigger you won't be able to get back through the door."

"Funny. Anyway, Dad and Revan left to destroy the Star Forge, and I escaped with a bunch of other students. I don't know what happened to most of them, but I'm glad they didn't stay. I wanted to destroy the Sith for some of the things they'd done, and for pulling me into their mindset. Luckily Revan snapped me out of it," Dustil continued.

"What did they do to you?"

"Not me personally. They killed my mother, Morgana, and murdered my best friend, Selena, because they thought she was holding me back from my potential as a Sith," Dustil said darkly.

"Stupid nerf herders," Emlyn muttered angrily, "What then?"

Dustil gave her a half smile before continuing, "I went back to Telos and began to help rebuild and wait for my dad to come back. It felt like old times, when he was gone a lot, only mother wasn't there. I was around seventeen at the time.

"So one day I hear that Malak had finally been defeated, and by his former master no less, and I knew the dad wouldn't be far away. When he got back it was hard for a while; we didn't know each other, and I had grown up before my time. When we began to get along better, Revan showed up, and for a while I… didn't like her."

"Why not?" Emlyn questioned.

"Well, because she and my father were… together," Dustil said, "It was kind of a shock when they got married.

"She married him?" Emlyn gasped.

"Isn't that what I said?"

"You're Revan's step-son?"

"That's generally how it works when your parent gets remarried," Dustil said with a grin.

Emlyn just gaped at him for a moment before pulling herself together. "When did they get married? And you seem to be okay with her now…"

"I wasn't for a long time. But Revan just has this thing about her that makes people want to trust her. By the time she left for the Unknown Regions I trusted her completely. She came back six years later as a prisoner of the Sith, and I still don't know what that was about, she managed to escape, came to visit, and dad pretty much forced her to marry him," Dustil said casually.

"Forced?"

"Well, she wanted to marry him, but didn't think it was fair to make him wait so long, especially when she didn't think she'd come back a second time, but Dad managed to convince her that he didn't want anyone else, just her. So they got married, she left again after a couple weeks, and then came back a few months later because she was pregnant."

Emlyn smiled at the thought of a baby, but stopped and asked, "Is that good?"

"Dad was… pretty much floored, and Revan was happier than I've ever seen her. So now I have a sister on the way," Dustil ended.

"Wait, so Revan just came back not too long ago?"

"Right."

"What about the…?" Emlyn started, but was interrupted by a feminine voice.

"Are you the ones interested in the Sith appearances?" Emlyn looked up and saw a very beautiful girl with long, chestnut curls, full red lips, a heart shaped face, and a slight, but well endowed figure.

"Yes, we are," Dustil replied, smiling at the girl, who smiled back.

"My name is Freya Sholin. Pleased to meet, you Jedi," she said softly, her liquid blue eyes focused on Dustil.

Emlyn frowned. They were in the middle of a possible Sith plot and the two of them were making eyes at each other? Especially with those Assassins entering the Lodge. "Hey, I know this might be a bad time, but could you guys continue this little flirtation a bit later? We have company," she said flatly, pointing to the door.

Dustil and Freya looked away from one another and saw the seven Assassins that Emlyn had indicated. Freya gasped in an unbelievably feminine way and looked like she was going to pass out on the spot, but clenched her jaw and remained conscious.

_Good for her,_ Emlyn thought irately to herself.

'_She is not used to seeing Sith walk right into a building.'_

_I know, but there's something I just don't like about her, Lea._

'_The fact that Dustil was admiring her?'_

_What! Don't be dense! I could care less! She just seems like a pity seeker,_ Emlyn thought grumpily.

'_Do not be so quick to judge.'_

_Yes, Lea._

"Jedi, surrender the girl or die," the leading Sith hissed.

Half to Emlyn's relief and half to her irritation, Dustil stepped between the Assassins and Freya. "I'm afraid we can't do that. Blades up, then," he said, that familiar smirk on his face. If the situation had been different, Emlyn would have laughed, but it wasn't, so she didn't.

The Sith fought better than she had expected, and she soon found herself being driven back toward a wall. With a grunt she swung her lightsaber into the Sith Assassin's body, and then moved on to the next one. Soon there was only the leader and two others. Dustil got the others, Emlyn had the leader. He was even better than the others. He attacked viciously, pushing Emlyn back until her shoulder blades hit the corner behind her. She was trapped. She swung at him and missed, and he trapped her arms over to one side, and pressed her against the wall with his elbow and knees.

He turned off his lightsaber and put it to her stomach. With a sadistic grin he spoke. "Now die, Jedi," he hissed, and switched his saber back on.

* * *

Wow. This took a lot of pages. Well, not that many, but more than I had planned on! I thought this would be the shortest chapter yet! Guess not, huh?

I keep wanting to do two : when someone is talking through the Force, but my computer won't let me and is going crazy... again. I swear I never mean to break it! Machines just don't like me!

Review please. I really like feedback. :)


	5. New Friends and New Problems

Hey, this is more than I've done on my other stories. Hmm. I just kinda go from story to story as I feel like working on them. For some reason my cranium will not let me stick to my original plots… Bad Blaine, bad.

Why, oh why didn't I give Emlyn just plain blonde hair? Because strawberry blonde is cooler, that's why! And violet eyes are just rockin'! Dude!

I'm fine.

Oh, and there will be more romance later. Better get to it, huh?

I'll try to update soon, but it takes so long to actually get anything done with the stuff going on right now. Don't forget to check my profile if I haven't submitted anything in a while, since I'll usually say why.

I am not happy, Bob. Not happy.

Enjoy! And don't forget to REVIEW! This authoress likes feedback! And rambling, apparently...

**Declaimer:** Since my name is Blaine and not George Lucas, or anything remotely close, I do not own anything in this story other than a few characters detached from their histories, settings, and everything else. If I did own Star Wars I would be incredibly patient, rich, intelligent, and... a guy... Not worth it.

* * *

**FIVE**

Emlyn felt a scream rise in her throat as she was about to die. But death was not to take her. She felt the Assassin's finger reaching for the switch, and she _pushed_. The power of her Force Push sent him flying across the room and over the counter where a scared looking rodian was cowering. Taking a deep breath, Emlyn leaped over to Dustil, who had just cut down the first Sith Assassin. Without a second thought Emlyn decapitated the second.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, putting his saber away.

She did likewise and nodded, knowing that he had felt her fear. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, attempting to smile, but failing. She bit the inside of her bottom lip and turned toward Freya. The young woman looked absolutely terrified and was trying very hard to be brave. Emlyn was still annoyed with her for some unknown reason, but her opinion of her went up one notch.

"You could have been killed, Jedi!" she said in her melodious voice, rushing over to Dustil.

Down three notches.

Dustil, however was not paying her much attention. He seemed to be focused on Emlyn and making sure she was okay. The reality was that she was not; the Sith had brought back… unpleasant memories, and she was putting up wall after wall to keep Dustil out, and she knew he felt it. "Happens all the time," he responded to Freya.

"You put your life in danger for me. I thank you for that," Freya said graciously.

Would have been two notches up, but Freya was only talking to Dustil, as if Elmlyn had hid behind a table as Freya had.

"It's our job," Dustil told her, "We shouldn't stay here." Walking over to where the rodian was still hiding by the Sith leader's body, Dustil apologized and lead the way out of the Lodge. The hunters were still sitting silently, knowing better than to interrupt Jedi business.

Emlyn was still annoyed with Freya for acting like it was only Dustil that had done anything, but she shook her head to dispel such thoughts. _It doesn't matter. She is infatuated with him, and I will not let this girl get to me… how old is she? Surely not more than seventeen or eighteen… _

'_That is a very wise decision, Emlyn.'_

_Then why don't I feel peaceful?_

'_You are still recovering from your shock of almost dying from the poison. Until your body has completely recovered from it, watch your emotions, for they will be harder to control until you are healthy again.'_

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Emlyn drew away from her conversation with Lea and looked up at Dustil. Had he gotten taller since she met him? He had to be six or seven inches above her 5' 6" feet. "I…" she started to tell him about the poison that was still in her, but Freya interrupted.

"I am sorry, but we are almost at the cantina. It should be safe for us to speak there," she said. Emlyn just noticed that Galactic Basic was not her first language, judging from how she put some of her sentences together, and her accent. How odd. Not that it was unheard of, but not many people went three years of their life without beginning to learn Basic.

"Do you have a home?" Dustil asked Freya, "If so, I would warn your family to get off world as soon as possible."

"I have no family. They were killed by the Sith only a few months ago. My father, who was very kind, and my mother and sisters. Only I remain. We will meet a boy there, Cole, who has also lost his family to the Sith," Freya said with anger.

"I'm sorry," Emlyn said softly.

Freya gave her a small smile. "Thank you. Not many people know how it feels. Do you?" she asked, looking at Emlyn curiously.

"We should hurry," Emlyn said, switching the subject. She did not want to say anything more about her past. She still couldn't believe that she had told Dustil so much. It made her feel… vulnerable, which was something she feared. The last time she had opened herself up to someone she had been let down very badly. She wouldn't let that happen again if she could help it.

'_Be careful not to close yourself off to life, Emlyn.'_

_I will,_ Emlyn said shortly, not wanting to talk about it.

"He said that he would meet us in the back left corner," Freya said softly as they entered the dark building.

The cantina was much like the rest that Emlyn had seen; dark, dank, dirty, funny smelling, and busy. There was not live entertainment though, only a Bith holo player. "I always love spending time in places like this," Emlyn said sarcastically as a drunken twi'lek lurched past her.

"I do not," Freya said with a shudder, "And I cannot see how you enjoy it so."

Emlyn could have sworn her sarcasm made a whistling noise as it flew over Freya's head.

"There he is," Freya said, pointing to a small table in a corner. Sitting at it was a young man with jet black hair that flopped over his forehead. Emlyn supposed he was around twenty-two. When they got closer he looked up, and she saw that he had intense crystal blue eyes.

"Cole, these are the… friends I told you would be coming," Freya said.

"Hey," Cole said, standing and extending a hand to both Emlyn and Dustil.

Dustil nodded to him, and Emlyn smiled a bit. Cole gestured for them to take their seats, and Emlyn noticed Freya carefully choosing one near Dustil.

"We should probably tell you about our encounters with the Sith," Freya said quietly. Emlyn had to strain to hear her.

"You can talk louder than that, princess; no one's listening," Cole said casually, leaning back resting his elbow on the back of his chair. Emlyn secretly agreed with the nickname.

"You cannot know that," Freya argued, looking annoyed

"I know it," was the only response.

Emlyn looked at him curiously. "How?" she asked before she could stop herself. Her heart gave an odd thud as he turned his intense gaze on her. She kept her face impassive as he stared at her.

"I don't know," he said finally, "But I do. No one's going to hear us that will care what's going on."

Glancing over at Dustil, Emlyn knew they were both thinking the same thing, but it was not the proper time to address that issue. Perhaps later, if the right time arrived.

"As I was saying," Freya continued, "My family was killed by the Sith for no apparent reason. They showed up one day, and my father tried to get them to let the rest of us go, but they wouldn't, so he told us to run, and only I escaped. My brother saved me, and died for it."

Seeing the pain in Freya's face, Emlyn felt sympathy for the girl and the life the Sith had taken from her.

"My story is the same as far as the basics, but I know why my family died, and yours too," Cole said seriously, his bangs obstructing the view of his eyes.

"_What?_" Freya's mouth opened in shock.

"Our fathers were two members of a group that was formed to plan an overthrow of Kabba," Cole said slowly, naming the Hutt that ruled most of Tatooine's settlements, "And as we know now, Kabba is employed by the Sith."

Dustil frowned and looked at Emlyn. They hadn't known that. Not that it was surprising, only more dangerous and difficult for them all.

"Don't look so shocked," Cole said with a short laugh, "I thought you Jedi could sense danger from a world away."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Emlyn said, raising her eyebrows at him.

"It'd help now and then, wouldn't it," Cole retorted.

"What happened to the rest of the group?" Dustil interrupted.

"They were killed. Of course, most were unimportant people, like my father, so no one cared enough to check out the cause of their deaths. The only one that caused a stir was the death of your father, princess," Cole said. Emlyn could hear bitterness in his voice, but it was well hidden.

"Stop calling me that," Freya hissed.

"You act like royalty, so why not call you so?"

"How dare you? I do not put on airs!"

"Didn't say you did, but now that you mention it…"

"Hey, cool it," Dustil said, leaning forward, "We have more important things to discuss."

"Sorry if I offended your girlfriend, here, but her father wasn't the only good man killed," Cole said coolly.

"And neither was yours, I bet," Emlyn pointed out, "So it would be _such_ a big help if you'd continue." She crossed her arms.

"Whatever you say, Captain," Cole said, saluting her. Emlyn bit the inside of her bottom lip to keep herself from retorting. "Others were killed, and the group was wiped out. They had overheard some plan the Sith were making that involved Tatooine, but I don't know what it was. It was big, though, and everyone was murdered."

"I… did not know," Freya said softly.

Emlyn looked away from their table and let her eyes travel over the occupants of the room. Some were playing pazaak, others were laughing and drinking together, and a few were huddled in dark corners, discussing mysterious topics, like her group was, Emlyn thought to herself. Suddenly a being caught her eye. It was a girl around here age, she'd guess, maybe a year older, with curly red hair that was pined all over her head, loose clothes, and a black bag swung over one shoulder. She looked like she was searching for someone.

"Expecting anybody else, you two?" Emlyn asked Freya and Cole.

They shook their heads and looked around.

"Well, there's someone that's just spotted us, and she coming this way," Emlyn said cheerfully.

"Cole," the girl said as she reached them. She was very short, maybe 5' 2", with gray eyes and a frown on her face.

"Mack?" Cole said, frowning.

"Mackenzie?" Freya echoed.

"That's me. Look, we gotta find a way out of here. I asked around and confirmed that…" Mackenzie stopped and stared at Emlyn and Dustil. "Who're the offs?"

"Off worlders," Cole supplied at Emlyn's look. Then, to Mackenzie, "They're Jedi."

"Really?" Mackenzie did not look pleased. "Since they're with you I'll assume they can be trusted, Cole," She said flatly, "The Sith are after you two, and me for that matter. You're witnesses that are willing to talk and I'm the gal that broke into their base."

The other four stared.

"Hey, they had it coming," Mackenzie defended, putting her hands on her hips, "They were practically begging someone to try and break in, what with all the emphasis they've been putting on their 'wonderful security systems'. Who was I to disappoint them?"

"So what'd you get, Mack? You should've told me you were going; I would've been glad to help," Cole said, smiling.

"Yeah, sure, and make me split fifty fifty. No, I'm a loner when it comes to jobs. But seriously, we've gotta span some clicks before they catch on that we're still here," the red head finished urgently.

"Why is that?" Dustil asked her.

"Because there are some very vengeful Huts and Sith on Tatooine that are going to have a lot of fun spacing the lot of us if we're not out of here by yesterday," Mackenzie explained, fiddling with the strap of her pack.

"I have one last thing to tell you all before we leave," Cole said, his eyes dark, "Because if I die… it needs to be known."

Emlyn looked at the young man with interest, and could feel Dustil key in on what Cole was about to say.

"The person that ordered the murders of the men is the Senator from Dantooine, Sholdan."

Emlyn knew that the news was bad, but judging from the reactions of the others around the table, it was worse than some low-level Senator gone bad. She looked over at Dustil, who was looking just as shocked as the other three. "This isn't good," he said grimly, running a hand through his unruly hair.

"I don't know what's so bad," she said, glancing at everyone.

"Are you serious, Jedi?" Mackenzie asked, eyes wide.

"Well, I haven't been around for a while, so I don't know much about the current political standing of the Republic," Emlyn explained, "Or much else about it, either."

"Senator Sholdan is supposed to be one of the people in charge of eliminating the Sith threat from the galaxy. He has access to most of the Republic's plans, strategies, and secrets. If he's turned..." Dustil paused for a moment, "I've got to let the Republic know."

"First we've gotta make sure our tails are in the clear, or we gonna lose them," Mackenzie said.

"Got a ship in mind?" Dustil asked.

"What's wrong with the one you came on?" Cole asked.

"If you were watching us when we landed - which is how you know we took a ship and not a public transport, right? – then you should know there's not enough room," Dustil responded.

"Hey, I didn't spy on you, I just know that Jedi like to take their own transportation when they travel. They like to make it easier to get away," Cole said defensively, leaning toward Dustil threateningly.

"You two can continue this lovely display of affection on the ship," Emlyn said, standing up quickly.

"And what ship is that, Jedi?" Mackenzie asked sneeringly.

"The big one for sale in Hobino's shop," Emlyn replied, folding her arms. She had seen the ship on the way in, and suspected that it had been sitting there long enough for Hobino to give them a discount, but only if they played their cards right.

"The _Solar Flare_?" Freya asked in astonishment.

"I'm not sure of the name, but it's the one with the blue rimming," Emlyn said, then as an afterthought, "What a stupid name."

"It was used to carry some famous band or other around for their galactic tour just before the Mandalorian Wars. Needless to say that trip was killed, just like the band," Mackenzie said.

Emlyn cringed inwardly, but addressed Cole when he asked her just how she planned to pay for it. Emlyn gave a wolfish grin as she answered, "Swoop racing, of course."

* * *

_She's completely mad!_ That was the first thought that entered Dustil's head after Emlyn's unexpected words. Everyone knew that swoop racing was much more dangerous than it had been about a decade ago. It was no longer just making sure you didn't collide with the walls; no, now they had barricades that you had to jump, dodge around, and duck under, as well as mines, obstructions, and any dirty trick someone decided to throw in for fun. That and the new type of engine the bikes had; they were much more unstable than the previous build, but the fad started on Taris some years ago with a prototype and had continued through the galaxy until anyone who didn't put themselves in immediate peril was considered a cheater. 

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Dustil said carefully, knowing that Emlyn would take it the wrong way. He could feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through her at the thought of racing, her slight nervousness, and her somewhat clouded mind. However, he was quickly closed off to her emotions as she threw up walls to keep him out. He frowned, wondering why Emlyn would do that.

"Why not? I'm a good racer, and if I die you all can still cram into the other ship and escape," Emlyn argued.

Dustil still didn't like the idea, but before he knew it he was standing next to Cole, Mackenzie, and Freya as Emlyn signed up for a round of three heats. After a while of waiting for it to be her turn, Dustil decided he was tired of waiting and made his way to the sign up desk; he was going to race.

After signing in, Dustil quietly walked up behind Emlyn. She sensed someone waiting behind her and turned, letting out a soft yelp of surprise to see Dustil grinning at her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, "And I suppose you _had_ to suppress your presence like that?"

"Just keeping you on your toes, Em," Dustil said with a smirk, "Next time it might not be someone as nice or as good looking as I am."

"Like a crazed bantha that's been out in the sun for several days?"

"Funny."

"Not joking."

Before Dustil could retort, a loud voice began to speak over the speaker system. "Racers, report to your gates."

"See you at the finish line, Onasi," Emlyn said, a smirk of her own on her lips.

"Just try not to get too upset when I beat your score into scrap," Dustil said lightly.

"You wish."

"I know."

"Liar."

"Takes one to know one."

"Okay, tell you what, Big Shot, how about we set a wager?" Emlyn suggested, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Stakes?" Dustil asked suspiciously.

"The winner gets to decide," Emlyn told him.

"Done."

On that potentially catastrophic note, they parted, both determined to beat the other out. Dustil smiled to himself; he was the best racer there had been on Telos, and that was years ago. The only person he had not been able to beat was Revan, but he let that one slide; she was a Legendary Jedi, after all.

Dustil hopped into his vehicle and watched the red light, waiting to begin. Yellow. Green! He floored the accelerator the millisecond the lights switched. To his annoyance, he realized that the machine was not very well built. "Come on!" he hissed as it sluggishly jolted forward. Reaching under the panel in front of him, Dustil blindly searched for two specific wires while trying to maintain his speed. There! He pulled the wires and reconnected them. The Swoop shot forward, almost taking him straight into a waiting mine. He veered to the left and hit a boost pad, and then went right and hit another. Shifting gears, Dustil barely bothered to keep his eyes open for traps; no one would care about a neophyte racer… yet.

"What an amazing score!" the Bith exclaimed as Dustil dismounted.

"What was it?" Dustil asked curiously, rapidly brushing at his hair to dislodge the dust from the track: there was no where safe from it on Tatooine.

"20.14 seconds!"

"That's it?" Dustil asked, frowning. He'd expected at least a nineteen.

"This does not please you, Human?" asked the Bith confusedly.

"I want to run my second heat," Dustil said, deciding not to answer the question.

"Yes, you may start," the Bith said. Dustil heard him muttering something about crazy humans as he walked away. _The alien might have a point_, Dustil conceded.

Two heats later, Dustil walked away happy with a best time of 17.98 seconds. He walked up to the desk and asked if he had won a reward. He seriously doubted that anyone else could have…

"Yes, you win for second place," the alien said cheerfully.

"What?"

"Second place, Human: you won second place," the alien said flatly.

"Who beat my time!"

The alien looked at him sternly.

"Have fun out there, Spacer?"

Dustil turned around and came face to face with a very happy looking Emlyn. A happy Emlyn was never a nice Emlyn. "Actually, I did, but…"

"Your score was really good, but not quite good enough, Onasi," Emlyn laughed, "I beat you."

"_You?_"

"Me."

"How….?"

"My score is 17 seconds, if you're interested," Emlyn said innocently.

"I don't believe this!" Dustil grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Believe it, flyboy! And don't mope around like you've got something jammed up your engine valve," Emlyn cackled.

"Unlike some people, I win and lose well."

"But you seem to be doing more of the latter, eh?"

"Just tell me what you're going to inflict on me," Dustil sighed. He might as well get it over with.

"Not yet. I need time to contemplate all possibilities," Emlyn said as she grinned in a disturbingly evil way.

Dustil felt a jolt of nervousness shoot through him; he didn't think he wanted to know what she was up to. Shaking his head, he said, "I still don't believe that you beat my time. There's got to be a mistake: I'll go check."

"Hey! You know I won fair and square, Onasi! You're such a dug over this! Don't ignore me! Get back here!" Emlyn shouted as Dustil took off. He had to swerve around the desk, doubting that he would be alive long enough if he stopped to actually check her time.

Emlyn chased him through the crowds and back toward the prep area that was filled with racers getting ready to run their heats. Dustil ducked behind a large locker and watched as Emlyn stopped in the doorway. She scanned the large room all the way from the dirty metal ground to the walls and ceiling marred by carbon scoring from blasters. Then he felt her search for him through the Force. He tried to put up walls, but wasn't able to block her completely: not at such a short distance.

When he knew she felt him, Dustil decided to make a break for it. He ducked out from behind the locker and attempted to escape through a side door, but was shoved roughly up against a wall. He found himself, for the third time that day, very close to Emlyn. She was scowling at him as she pinned him to the cold metal wall.

"Admit you lost, Onasi," she ordered.

"What, you can't take a challenge to your skills?" Dustil joked.

"I want to hear you admit defeat is all," was the cheerful reply.

Dustil thought quickly: he didn't hate losing something like an unimportant swoop race, but there was as much chance of him ever admitting defeat to Emlyn as she would to him. So how to get out of it? He looked down at her triumphant violet eyes, a few wisps of red-gold hair hanging in front of them. What would annoy her most? He smirked.

"What?" Emlyn asked suspiciously, tightening her grip on his collar. She yelped in surprise as Dustil wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest while stepping away from the wall so that he was no longer trapped. Just as she began to push him away, Dustil let her go and, with a cocky grin, took off through the door and disappeared.

"You will die, Dustil Onasi!" Emlyn shouted after him, "And the authorities won't be able to find enough of your pitiful remains to convict me!" The only answer Emlyn got was silence. Most likely he'd been out of hearing range. Emlyn tried to calm down, noticing that she was trembling slightly and having a bit of a hard time breathing.

'_Are you alright, Emlyn?'_

_NO! That idiotic Jedi! Stupid, brainless marsh toad! Foul breathed katarn! Fr…_

'_I sense you are angry,' _Lea said with humor.

_I won't let him get to me! I won't!_

'_I can see that.'_

_We'll see who wins! I won't let him know he made me mad! I… have an abnormal amount of lethal chemicals coursing through my bloodstream, _Emlyn finished irately. Taking a deep breath, she began the trek back to the others. When she got there they were already planning on how to get Hobino to agree to their price. It was feasible, but would be difficult; Toydarians weren't easy to negotiate with.

"I say we hold a weapon to his head and get it over with," Cole was saying, exasperated.

"I'd like to put a sharp object to someone's head, but it's not Hobino," Emlyn muttered.

"I think that was a jab at me," Dustil said musingly.

"I'll jab something, alright," Emlyn retorted before turning her attention to the others. "We should go see him before we debate anymore; we won't be able to tell how low he'll go if we don't talk to him first."

"Well, we haven't got a better plan," Mackenzie muttered.

"Thanks so much for your support," Emlyn replied.

"I've got plenty to spare."

"Can't you either of you say _anything_ without being sarcastic?" Cole demanded.

"Don't be dense," Mackenzie scolded him.

"Of course not," Emlyn said sternly.

"I believe they were being sarcastic again, Cole," Freya said thoughtfully.

"If they had been any more obvious we would've had to shoot them," Dustil quipped.

"Oh! Please don't!" Freya said in alarm, gripping Dustil's arm, "You would get in trouble!"

"So glad you care, Frey," Mackenzie said.

"Let's just go," Emlyn snapped, not liking the way Freya leaned toward Dustil. The latter didn't seem to notice.

The bargaining went much better than anyone expected. It turned out that Emlyn was a natural at negotiations, and soon they walked out of the shop with a new ship and 1,256 credits to spare.

"I can't believe that worked," Cole said, stunned.

"Is your friend always so… demanding?" Freya asked Dustil as all of them walked toward the docking area to board their new ship.

Emlyn scowled as Freya brushed against Dustil as she walked. Again, Dustil didn't seem to notice her attentions.

"Most likely," Dustil replied to Freya, giving Emlyn an amused look.

Remembering that she was supposed to be mad at him, the strawberry blonde Jedi sniffed and turned her head away. "So where are we going, exactly," Emlyn asked Cole and Mackenzie, who were busy arguing about something or other. They stopped and looked at her, and then at each other.

"That's what we were… discussing," Mackenzie said with a frown. "I think we should head for Coruscant and confront Sholdan about this, with witnesses of course, and…"

"I think we should go to Nar Shadaa," Cold interrupted, glaring at the girl.

"Why?" Freya asked.

"Because that's where Jobba is, and he'll know a lot more about this than even Sholdan will," Cole snapped.

"Who's Jobba?" Emlyn asked.

"One of the Slimiest Huts on the planet," Cole said darkly, "But also one of the best informed of illegal… ventures."

"Why don't we decide this when we're in the clear," Dustil suggested, lowering the loading ramp of the _Solar Flare._

"Fine," Cole and Mackenzie said simultaneously.

As soon as they had cleared the planet's atmosphere, everyone began arguing on the best coarse of action. Emlyn agreed with Mackenzie, Freya with Cole, and Dustil ended up being mediator. Finally he managed to get everyone to calm down enough to voice the problems with both arguments. They had very little evidence to go on if they wanted to confront the Senator, and Nar Shadaa would most likely be a dead end or a trap.

"I think we should head for Nar Shadaa," Dustil said slowly. Surprisingly no one interrupted. "But we should warn the Republic to watch Sholdan."

"Good with me," Emlyn said after a few moments of silence, "I was just remembering the quality pazaak that I could play on the planet. Not that there's much else to do besides get shot at."

"Whatever," Mackenzie muttered.

"I'm for it," Cole said, grinning.

"Shut up," Mackenzie said, but without much venom.

"I will follow you," Freya told Dustil solemnly.

Emlyn rolled her eyes as Dustil left to send a message to his father and Revan. The rest of the group sat and chatted for a while, and Cole went over what he knew about the Hut: Jobba was a top crime lord that controlled many factions of the Exchange on Nar Shadaa, and was known for his greed, ruthlessness, and his stench. That put everyone in a stellar mood; nothing like a stinking Hut to brighten the darkest day.

Just as the conversation began to lull, Dustil was back, looking very grim. "We have a problem," he started.

"Other than being on the run from murdering Sith, you mean?" Emlyn asked. Dustil just frowned at her.

_It has to be serious if he won't shoot something back at me, _Emlyn thought, starting to get alarmed.

"I got through to Admiral Onasi, but…" Dustil sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Emlyn supposed he didn't want the others to know he was related so closely to an important Republic hero. _Just as well_, Emlyn thought, glaring at Freya. The last thing she wanted was to listen to the dark haired girl gush over Dustil. "Spit it out, Dustil," Emlyn said crossly.

"We've been accused of murder, theft, and betraying the Republic. We've got a bounty on our heads and a warrant for our arrest."

* * *

**REVIEW PLEASE.**

There! I did this chapter in a choppy sort of way due to lack of time. Oh, and I probably won't be able to write much until my spring break, which is in a week and a half. Everyone else gets theirs early, but NO! I don't! And even then I don't know if I'll be with my dad or not, so I STILL might not be able to write much!

Okay, done ranting for now. Until later!


	6. Sorrow

I'm on chapter number six. Hmm. This one isn't quite as long as some of the others, but oh well. Expect more talking than anything else. I'll try to get more action in the next chapter. And hopefully get going on the romance part. Everytime I think, "Yay, it's going right!" It inevitably goes way, way off track. I'm cursed.

**Declaimer:I only own my own ideas and own nothing more than that.**

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* * *

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**SIX**

"We've been accused of _what!_" Emlyn cried out in shock, her violet eyes wide.

"Theft, murder, and betrayal," Dustil listed, "And a bounty on each of our heads, probably whether or not our bodies are still attached."

"_Why?_"

"I have no idea. Fa – the Admiral had just heard about it. Someone knows we got off the planet, and possibly what we're trying to do," Dustil said darkly, "And this is more evidence against Senator Sholden; whoever did this had to have high priority and a lot of power with the Republic."

"Frack," Emlyn muttered, sliding down in her seat. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the wall of the ship.

"How have they found out?" Freya asked, her hands nervously clasped together.

"It's not like we were subtle with the Sith," Dustil pointed out, "Bodies attract attention."

"You and Miss Jedi over there weren't exactly quiet with your record breaking race scores, either," Cole sneered.

Emlyn opened her mouth to give him what for, but was interrupted by Mackenzie.

"Shut up, Cole; if they hadn't been there we would probably be lying dead in a ditch," the redhead snapped.

Cole glared at her before turning his attention to the far end of the room. Freya looked between the two and frowned. "It is not a good time to have friends fighting like this," she said meaningfully.

"What friends?" Cole snapped at her.

"All of us. We are companions now," Freya said sternly.

"All I see is a group of misfits that have nothing better to do than go on a suicidal mission trying to make sure that justice is served," Cole snarled.

"Who're you calling a misfit?" Mackenzie demanded, smacking him on the arm.

Emlyn frowned and thought about what he said. Maybe Cole, Mackenzie, and she were misfits, but Freya was too much of a princess to be called anything close, and Dustil… well, Dustil was special, Emlyn could feel it. She didn't know exactly what it was about him, but there was definitely… an aura of sorts. Maybe it could be called destiny, or perhaps it was simply a trick of her mind.

"So what are we going to do now?" Cole asked.

"Get the _Flare_'s ID signature changed before someone decides to collect our heads," Dustil said with a grin.

"Is this funny to you?" Cole growled, "Because this is the last thing I need right now."

"I'm serious; Hobino knows our signature, and he'll give it away to anyone who waves enough cash under his nose, which will be just about every bounty hunter from here to the Unknown Regions," Dustil said as he leaned back against the door frame.

"You are so brave, Dustil," Freya said admiringly, "even with so many threatening your life."

Emlyn scowled irritably, wishing they would get a room or leave the ship through the nearest exit.

"It's not just me," Dustil said seriously, "It's actually more you and Cole, since you're the ones with the evidence against these people."

"And what exactly do you expect us to do with our information? Give it to the Republic?" Cole sneered.

"I don't expect anything," Dustil said calmly, "But I am going to Nar Shadaa and having a chat with that Hut; if we don't get concrete evidence we've got nothing, not even our lives. And we're not the only ones that will suffer if the Sith are actually behind this."

"I agree with Dustil," Freya said softly a wavy lock of raven hair falling in front of her face as she looked down, "But I am afraid."

"We all are, I'm sure," Mackenzie said matter-of-factly.

Dustil looked at the group of young adults and felt determination fill him; he felt responsible for them, and for the mission. "Anyone else coming?" he asked, his eyes turning toward Emlyn.

She lowered her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms. "What? You have to ask? You're my teacher, remember?" she pointed out crossly.

_:Just making sure: _Dustil thought to her.

_:Idiot:_

_:Call me what you like, just remember who's piloting this piece of junk:_

_:Yeah, yeah, sing me another song:_

"I'll go too," Mackenzie said, "Sounds like it'll be fun."

"Good for you. I'm out of here as soon as the ship docks on Nar Shadaa," Cole said snappishly.

"Cole…" Mackenzie began, but didn't get to finish. He strode out of the room, hands in his pockets, and headed for the Starboard bunks. "Men," Mackenzie muttered before following him.

"I feel I should be insulted," Dustil said to Emlyn.

"Good feeling, then: go with it," she replied.

"Watch it, Padawan," Dustil warned mockingly, "Or I might just have to teach you a lesson."

Emlyn resisted the urge to slug him, thinking that it wouldn't make for a very good start to their trip. There was also the risk that Freya would scream and gush over him if Emlyn gave into the temptation; it wasn't worth it. Instead she gave short laugh and said, "Take your best shot, Onasi! You'll be on the floor before you can say 'spittoon'."

"What if I don't mind?" Dustil teased.

Emlyn felt her face beginning to turn red from embarrassment. "I'd rather kiss Jobba, for your information," she retorted, lobbing the closest object she could find – a wrench – at his head.

Dustil caught it with one hand, feigned a hurt expression, and made his way back to the cockpit. Emlyn was trying very hard not to blush. She decided that revenge was inevitable. Suddenly Freya's voice interrupted her scheming thoughts.

"How can you speak to him so?" the younger girl asked sternly, "He is such a kind person, and yet you treat him as though he is…"

"Whoa, whoa," Emlyn said, holding up her hands, "I don't treat him as anything he isn't. He's a friend and my fellow Jedi."

"That is no way to treat a friend," Freya said heatedly.

"Look, I don't know why you're so angry, and frankly I don't care. I tease him, he teases me, and that's all," Emlyn said irately.

"Then why did he run away from you at the race?" Freya demanded.

"Because I was threatening his life," Emlyn said.

"How can you be so…" Freya began to say, her voice high.

"I was joking. You're just so high and mighty that you wouldn't recognize humor if it bit you on the…!"

"We've got another passenger!" a voice interrupted. It was Mackenzie. Cole followed her back into the room, still not looking very happy, but not quite so angry. "What's going on here?" Mackenzie asked, frowning at the looks on the other two women's faces.

"Nothing," Emlyn said. She rose to her feet and marched toward the cockpit. She was angry. One thing that would calm her down at the moment was reading the hyperspace sequences. It was a habit that she had picked up from a friend… She took a deep breath as she walked up behind Dustil.

"Something up, Em?" he asked her, turning his head to look at her.

"Yeah. It doesn't matter though: I just have to calm down and I'll be fine," Emlyn mumbled, making her way to the star chart. She began settling in to read her way through the coordinates of every planet in the ship's memory. She whistled as she scanned the list. "There're a load of destinations on here," she mentioned to Dustil.

"Yeah, twenty-seven, I think. Ships don't usually have more than seven or eight," he replied.

"That tour must've been something. Or would have been," Emlyn murmured, deciding on a pretty blue planet that she hadn't heard of before. It was pretty far out near the Rim; what would a band be doing playing way out there?

"Are you okay about Nar Shadaa?" Dustil asked suddenly.

"What?" Emlyn asked, turning to him.

Dustil stood up and walked over to her, frowning slightly. "I didn't really consider how you would feel about going back there until I had already said I was going. I wasn't sure if you'd come," he explained.

Emlyn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel Dustil's concern for her, but somehow that just seemed to irritate her. "I'm fine. It's no big deal, Onasi."

"It is if you're bothered by it."

"Well, I'm not," Emlyn snapped. She glared at him, expecting him to get angry, but the emotion on his face was not anger. He was watching her, studying her. She supposed it was his job: Jedi couldn't have their student's losing their minds on a regular basis. The truth was that she _was_ bothered by it, more than she wanted to admit even to herself, but that didn't mean she wouldn't go. She had been very frightened, all the time, back on Nar Shadaa, and old habits died hard. But they did die.

Feeling Dustil cautiously brush her consciousness, Emlyn felt her cheeks heat up a bit. The brush was out of concern, but it was too intimate for her comfort, but that was to be expected when you had someone linked to your mind.

_:I don't believe you: _she felt him say softly.

_:Didn't ask you to: _Emlyn replied.

"There's more to it, isn't there?"

Emlyn turned her head away and closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about it, didn't want to talk about it… didn't want it to be true. To lose someone that one cared about deeply created a wound that nothing but time could heal, and sometimes even time didn't seem to work.

Suddenly she felt fingers gently take her chin and turn her face. Opening her eyes, Emlyn stared at Dustil blankly. He would listen if she wanted to talk.

"Not yet," she said softly.

"I'm here when you're ready, if you ever are," he said simply. Turning to the map, he asked her if she knew of any ideal docking areas on Nar Shadaa. "We'll need one that's out of the way if we're going to avoid the authorities."

"Yeah, hold on," Emlyn said with relief at the change of subject. She brought up the planetary map on Nar Shadaa and pointed to a small section on the west side of the planet. "If I remember correctly, and if things haven't changed too much, there should be a few… unoccupied landing pads around here."

"You mean illegal," Dustil said absently as his hands flew over the control switches and keys of the ship.

"I prefer to think of them as… unwanted," Emlyn replied.

Dustil shook his head and didn't respond.

Soon they were docked on an older looking pad. Thankfully it was completely stable; the last thing they wanted was to fall for hours and hours to the ground on Nar Shadaa. If there even was a ground anymore, that was.

"If we're going to find Jobba, the best thing to do would be to check the cantina or the pazaak lounge," Cole said contemplatively as the five of them gathered in the main room of the ship.

"If we have time I'll give you the honor of being beaten by me in pazaak," Mackenzie teased Cole, who glared at her.

"Before we get too far with the details, who's staying behind with the ship?" Emlyn asked as she made sure her lightsaber was secure on her belt.

The five looked at each other, blank looks on their faces. Dustil sighed. "I'm guessing that no one wants to stay," he said.

"Hey, I have to come: it's my contact," Cole argued.

"I do not wish to remain behind…Dustil," Freya said, her face turning a shade pinker when she said his name. Emlyn nearly rolled her eyes, but caught herself just in time.

"Fine," Mackenzie snapped, "I'll stay. The Jedi obviously have to stay, Cole doesn't have a choice, and Freya's so love sick over Dustil that she wouldn't notice if someone spaced the whole ship around her ears."

Blushing furiously now, Freya turned her face away from Dustil, who was looking at the dark haired girl in surprise. Emlyn almost laughed at the expression on his face; he really hadn't noticed! She would give him a terrible time about it later, she vowed with an evil smirk.

"Great, I get two crazy Jedi and a princess. I'd rather stay on the ship," Cole grumbled, hoisting a pack over one shoulder and heading for the exit ramp of the _Solar Flare_.

_My sentiments exactly, only I have to deal with one crazy Jedi, Miss Princess, and a moody..._

_:In a good mood, huh: _Emlyn heard Dustil say.

_:How could you tell? Is it my shining aura of happiness: _ Emlyn asked sarcastically.

_:Claws are out today, Em: _Dustil replied calmly.

Emlyn immediately felt bad: he hadn't done anything to her other than be nice, and here she was snapping at him because she was annoyed with Freya because… Why was she frustrated with the girl?

'_You have feelings for the Onasi boy,' _Lea said quietly.

Shock shot through Emlyn; she stood, unmoving for a moment before vehemently denying that she had any such feelings at all, especially for Dustil.

'_Just the fact that you are trying so hard to disprove my words tells me that you are also trying to convince yourself that you do not care for him.'_

_I didn't say that I don't care for him. I do, but like a swoop bike or a pet fish. I mean, I'd cry if I had to flush him down the refresher, but I wouldn't want to _kiss_ him!_

'_Wouldn't you?' _Lea asked gently.

Emlyn hesitated and images sprang into her mind unbidden. Dustil looking at her in a special way, moving closer until…

_No! He's my friend, and nothing more. Jedi aren't supposed to…_

'_Love? Feel? No, I suppose not. But do Jedi not protect the galaxy from harm because they love it?'_

_That's different!_

'_Yes it is. But there are Jedi that have fallen in love.'_

_Yeah, and we all know how well that turns out, _Emlyn said, mentally snorting as she walked to the bunk room that she shared with Freya and Mackenzie.

'_I feel that you care for him much more than you let on.'_

_Well, I don't,_ Emlyn thought lamely.

'_Just be careful, Emlyn. Jedi are saviors, and saviors are slaves to the good of all, which often requires the sacrifice of all they have. And you have not been a Jedi for very long.'_

_Don't worry, Lea. I'm fine, really,_ Emlyn said, trying to convey a comforting feeling. She was interrupted Dustil popped his head in the room and asked Freya and her if they were ready to leave. "Yeah, I'm done," Emlyn replied, careful not to look at him. Freya said that she needed a minute more. "What's the hold up?" Emlyn asked Freya after Dustil left.

"I am having trouble focusing on what I should pack," Freya replied as she removed an item from her bag.

"Just take a change of cloths, some medpacs, a couple weapons, and anything else you think you might need for a short-ish trip," Emlyn replied practically.

Freya nodded absently. Emlyn looked at her curiously and asked, "Something bothering you?" even though she got the feeling that she wouldn't want to hear it.

"It is what Mackenzie said," Freya admitted, "about Dustil."

"You do like him?" Emlyn asked flatly.

"I…I think I do…very much. I do," Freya said helplessly.

"You just met him," Emlyn pointed out, "You should be careful about becoming so attached in so short a time."

"He would never betray me," Freya defended.

"I didn't say he would, only that you can't know the extent of your feelings yet, and…"

"Do you imply that I am too young to know my own mind?" Freya demanded.

"Shut up for a second," Emlyn ordered, "I was just going to say that you don't know if he feels the same way, or if you feelings are truly anything more than admiration."

"You do not feel what I feel, and what I feel is not mere admiration. I have felt much admiration before, but this is not it," Freya said defiantly.

Emlyn felt her stomach tighten with irritation and a bit of nervousness; what if Dustil felt the same? No, definitely not: his face had told her that much. But what about now that he knew how Freya felt? That would ruin their friendship if he were to fall for someone like her; she seemed a bit… over possessive.

_But Dustil's a Jedi,_ Emlyn reminded herself sternly, _and Jedi do not fall in love._

'_Shouldn't, but do.'_

Emlyn scowled at Lea's words and forced her attention back to Freya. "Look, all I'm saying is that you should be careful of interpreting emotions so quickly, Freya," Emlyn said gently.

"It is easy for you to say, Jedi!" Freya burst out unexpectedly.

Emlyn stared, slightly shocked, at the younger woman's red cheeks and flashing eyes. She really felt strongly about this. "Freya…"

"How easy for a Jedi to lecture about controlling emotions when they have none of their own!" the dark haired girl raged on, "You do not have the troubles I have! You do not feel this longing and know that it can never be! Because Jedi do not love, and he is a Jedi! You cannot understand, so do not give me lessons on emotion!"

Immediately Emlyn's temper rose. "I'd advise keeping your mouth shut about things you don't understand," Emlyn said, her voice wavering from her desperate attempt to keep her temper under control.

"And you should not criticize something you have never experienced! You give advice about something that you will never understand or know. Jedi do not feel," Freya said shrilly.

"Shut up!" Emlyn shouted, shocking both herself and Freya. The latter sat in stunned silence. "How dare you judge me?" Emlyn choked out, trembling from her anger and sadness, "You don't know me. You don't know where I've been or who I've known, or what I felt for them. So don't presume that you can pull that kind of garbage on me." Without a backward glance, Emlyn grabbed her bag and turned her back on Freya as she left.

* * *

"Where's Freya?" Dustil asked Emlyn as she walked into the cockpit and grabbed her data pad from the co-pilot's seat. Cole, he knew, was outside waiting, and Dustil wanted to get underway as soon as possible. Suddenly he was hit with a powerful wave of anger and sorrow coming from her. What had happened? He stopped his work at the galaxy map to look at her.

"She's finishing her packing. Go help her if you want to get out of here faster," Emlyn snapped as she pushed past him.

"Wait a second," Dustil said, putting a hand on her arm. To his surprise Emlyn swung around and Force Pushed him back against the wall. "Hey!" he yelled in surprise. He managed to keep a hold on her arm.

"Leave me alone, Dustil," Emlyn warned.

"Not in this state! What's wrong?" he asked her, very concerned.

"Let go of me," Emlyn demanded.

Dustil complied, and she wrenched away from him, heading toward the door. With a flick of his wrist the door shut with a whirring sound, and clinked as the lock slid into place.

"What is your problem?" Emlyn practically yelled after discovering the door would not open even after trying to force it with her own Force.

"Tell me what the matter is," Dustil said gently.

Emlyn glared at him. "Open that door," she ordered angrily.

"No. You've got a problem, and I think you need to talk about it," Dustil said correctly.

"Where do you get off telling me what I need, Onasi?" Emlyn demanded.

"I got the right to help you when we became friends and you became a Jedi. It's what we do: we help one another and others," Dustil said calmly. He knew that she knew he was right.

Emlyn hesitated and was alarmed to feel hot liquid welling up in her eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able to control it for much longer. She was angry and upset, and she needed to cry, whether she wanted to or not. But not in front of Dustil. "Unlock the door," she tried again.

"Not yet, Em," Dustil said.

With three angry strides, Emlyn crossed the room. "Open the door!" she commanded.

"Em…"

"Let me out!" she cried, angry as tears began leaking from her eyes. She raised her fists and hit them against his chest once before salty liquid began running in rivers down her cheeks. She felt two warm arms wrap around her shoulders and almost pulled away, but didn't. After a second's hesitation, she leaned against Dustil, her breath becoming erratic as she tried to contain her sobs.

"Let it out, Emlyn," she heard Dustil say.

"He died," she managed to get out, "And I couldn't save him."

"Who?" Dustil asked, bewildered.

"Aidan."

Dustil held her protectively as he waited for her to continue.

"Aidan was my best friend, and he… I was going to marry him," Emlyn choked.

Shock shot through Dustil's body as her words registered. "What? When?" he asked without thinking.

"I'd known him since I was small, and when we turned eighteen he asked me to marry him. We were going to wait until we were twenty-one, but he… was killed. I didn't have the strength to do anything. I was hurt, and he died saving my life. That's why I hunt the Sith, and why…" she couldn't continue. Her sobs broke free, wracking her body as they burst from her mouth. She gasped and cried, trying to catch her breath, but unable to stop the sorrow that was escaping her heart.

Dustil held her closer as he listened to her heart-broken cries, his own heart having trouble not breaking at the sound. Three years. It had only been three years since he had died. She would have married him very soon. Then her last words sunk in: "_That's why I hunt the Sith…"_

"Emlyn, you're tracking Sith?" Dustil asked as she calmed down a bit.

"Yes," she said angrily between sobs, "They destroyed my life, and murdered innocent people; I need to get to the Republic and warn them about…" she stopped, closing her mouth with a snap. "But I can't," she said bitterly, the last of her sobs dying in her throat, "They probably wouldn't have believed me even before I had all those charges against me, but now… There's no way." She paused for a second before adding determinedly, "I have to try anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Dustil asked, his grip on her tightening the tiniest bit.

"I'm talking about another threat to the galaxy, the Jedi in particular. And most specifically, Revan. She's the only one who can lead a counter attack," Emlyn said in a low voice, "That's what they said, and that is why they want to kill her, or turn her: whatever it takes to get her out of the way. The Sith threat isn't over, and I don't know if it will ever be through with for good."

"We have to warn her and the Republic," Dustil said, feeling sick from what he had just heard, but not surprised, not when it came to the Sith. Dustil thought quickly. He could probably get through to his father, but Revan. He felt a thrill of horror course through his body as a terrible truth occurred to him. Slowly, he said, "If they're going to attack, it's going to be at the time when she's most vulnerable. She's going to have a baby, Em. They're going to threaten her child."

* * *

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. Even though I don't really like this chapter...

Wow. I totally did not mean for it to get so angsty! So much for a lighter chapter. I so did not know that about Emlyn! I thought I might have her brother be the one who died along with… others, but not someone she was in love with! Is it healthy that I have minimal – sometimes almost no – control over my stories? It can't be.

How the heck am I supposed to continue on from this point? Corners, corners all around.

SPRING BREAK SOON! YAY! But wait! That means… WORK! Darn. Don't ask, it's the way my mom is. She believes that break time is a time to catch up on things. That's a good idea, but who wants to be on top of things? Really! Oh well, better than being with Dad, I suppose; I can at least use my computer and hang out some.  I don't…_think_ I'll be with Dad… hopefully… er…

Until next time! And then I'll try to lighten things up a bit, since they WILL NOT be able to contact Revan yet, and will have to follow their lead with Sholden. Maybe I'll even remember to throw in some evil things that are done to Dustil by Emlyn. I'm thinking… pazaak and undercover stuff! Yeah!

Oh, and a big, big thank you to Lady Drachir and Amme Moto!


	7. The Contact

I'm very, very sorry about not having updated in so long, but other things take precedence over this story, I'm afraid.

Seventh chapter.

Kinda lost my plot (literally), so good luck to me.

Shortish chapter.

Declaimer: I only own the lack of plot and a couple characters, I am not making any money from this story, and I freely admit it, thus you cannot sue me legally.

Who am I kidding?

* * *

**SEVEN**

Emlyn groaned as she lowered herself onto the floor of her holding cell, trying to bang any of her new bruises. She couldn't believe what had happened in the past two hours. How could they run into so much trouble in less than a day on a planet? She decided that it was just a special talent they all possessed, possibly with the exception on Freya, who looked so young and scared in her cage that it made even Emlyn want to comfort her.

She had to admit to herself that she felt slightly guilty for her reaction earlier. Some might say it was justified, but Emlyn thought differently. She was a Jedi, older than Freya by three years, and should have known better and behaved better. Perhaps if she had an opportunity she could talk things over with the younger girl. But there were bigger things to be concerned with at the moment, like how to escape their death sentence, for one thing.

* * *

After she had recovered from the embarrassment of her confession to Dustil – on the good side it made them better friends – she, Freya, Dustil, and Cole had gone straight to the cantina for information on Jobba or someone who could put them in contact. She remembered entering the cantina and being shocked by its cleanliness. It was clean! She just couldn't get her mind around the concept. Of course, there wasn't any entertainment to speak of, but there weren't any blood stains, carbon scoring, or a nasty odor in the air. 

"Looking for something, strangers?" asked a soft feminine voice. Emlyn turned and caught sight of a purple skinned, scantily dressed twi'lek woman. She was standing behind a half wall, and had apparently been watching since the four had entered the room.

"What's it to you?" Cole asked suspiciously.

"I may have what it is you seek," the twi'lek said, "And you may be able to do me a service." She smiled at them, but the grin was not friendly. "I know you seek Jobba, though I do not know why. I can take you to him, but in return you must do me a favor."

"How do we know that you are telling the truth?" Freya questioned, frowning at the twi'lek.

"Let me introduce myself first. I am Kala Divnar, a bounty hunter from the Outer Rim, and I'm here on business that doesn't concern you," said the twi'lek, "And as for how you know I'm telling the truth, that is your decision. I can only tell you that I am not lying to you."

Freya, Dustil, and Emlyn looked at each other. Of course they didn't trust her, but her information might just be what they needed.

_:It's probably a trap: _Emlyn thought to Dustil.

_:But it could be our only lead:_

_:Then lets check it out:_

"Shibaka tu nuka," Cole said unexpectedly.

Kala looked surprised for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Anaka bija," she responded, chuckling.

_:Do you have any idea what that meant: _Emlyn asked Dustil.

_:I think it was a signal of some kind, but I wouldn't bet my life on that. It was in the twi'lek language called… I don't remember. I did used to have a twi'lek as a teacher in the Sith Academy, but I didn't learn much of her language; she preferred to let her saber do the talking:_

_:Ah:_

Cole grinned. "This is my contact," he said, "But that doesn't mean we can trust her." He turned to face Kala. "You didn't say anything about a trade, Kala."

Shrugging, the twi'lek responded, "I did not have to meet you here, either. Even talking to Jedi could get me killed, but I do it, asking only a small favor in return. I do not think it is so much."

"What do you want us to do?" Dustil asked. His face was unreadable.

Kala looked each of them up and down before saying, "Jobba is hosting a party tomorrow, and you are to join the hired help. That will get you close to the hutt, and to one of his guests. There will be a man named Ranod Kolin attending. I need you to steal the key to his apartment room: he has something of mine that I want back."

"That's it? You want us to swipe a passkey?" Emlyn asked suspiciously.

"It is important to me, human," Kala spat angrily. "I do not have time to indulge your idiotic curiosity. Here is the address. Be there at five tomorrow night, galactic standard time," Kala said impatiently, thrusting a data pad at Emlyn before turning her back on them and walking out of the cantina.

"So what you think?" Emlyn asked the others as they looked at the address. It was no more than fifteen minutes away, but the whole thing was rather shady.

"I will follow your lead," Freya said to Emlyn, surprising the older girl.

"Thanks, Freya," Emlyn said quietly. Freya had forgiven her, and Emlyn had forgiven Freya.

"She's my contact, but she doesn't have a history of honesty," Cole said, "But I'll go; I just want to get to the bottom of this."

"Dustil?" asked Emlyn.

Dustil shrugged. "I say that it's a lead, and that we follow it. Besides," he said with a grin, "If we have to beat our way out, well… its practice."

Cole grinned at Dustil. "I like the way you think," said, twirling his blaster on his finger.

"Practice?" Emlyn asked, raising an eyebrow, "You have mental problems that outstrip my abilities. We'll deal with those later, 'cause right now we've got to get to work."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Mackenzie began, "You all agreed to work for a shady Outer Rim bounty hunter for free, with no proof that she was telling the truth, and now you want me to come?" 

Cole and Dustil looked at each other. With a grin, Cole said, "Yeah, that's about it."

Emlyn rolled her eyes. _Guys. _ There was nothing else to be said about it.

_:I heard that:_

_:Go space yourself:_

_:That hurt:_

_:Good:_

Emlyn grinned and turned her attention back to the argument that Cole and Mackenzie were having. She couldn't figure out exactly what it was about, and wasn't entirely sure that _they_ even knew anymore.

"There is no point in debating," Freya broke in, "I am staying with the ship. I do not wish to go, and since there is someone to take my place I do not have to go. She is not trustworthy, and…" Freya hesitated for a moment. "I do not like hutts."

"Scared of slugs, are you…Oof!" Cole was cut off when Mackenzie jabbed his ribcage with her elbow, perhaps harder than necessary.

"You would not like them either if a young one mistook you for food," Freya sniffed.

"Eew," Mackenzie said, wrinkling her nose, images of hutt slime flitting through her head.

"My thoughts exactly," Emlyn agreed.

"So this situation can't get much worse for you, huh?" Cole asked helpfully.

Just then the lights went out.

"What the frack just happened?" Emlyn yelped, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness.

"Do you hear that grinding sound?" Dustil asked.

Emlyn listened. All she heard was silence.

"All I hear is silence," she said.

"Well, what you don't hear is the hyperdrive malfunctioning. We've got to get that fixed if we have any hope of getting off this planet," Dustil said.

"And the part that's damaged just happens to be connected to the lights?" Emlyn asked.

"No, that's connected somewhere completely different," Dustil said, "And they're flickering slightly over in the med lab, meaning that we have several problems on our hands."

Emlyn groaned quietly and let her head drop back onto her shoulders. "I'm beginning to wonder if we were all born with this luck, or if it was a gift," she muttered.

"Maybe both," Dustil said cheerfully. If he could have seen her, Emlyn would have glared at him. "Okay, Freya, will you make sure there aren't any sparking wires in the cockpit? The last thing we need is an electrical fire in there. Mackenzie, check on the ship's security, will you? And Cole, I need you to get your hands on some parts that may be difficult to find. We have a few things, but others… well, I'll leave the how to you," Dustil trailed off.

"No problem," Cole said, a grin in his voice.

"What about light, Pilot Boy?" Emlyn asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"I'll have that fixed in a second," Dustil's voice said from across the room, purposefully ignoring her last words. Emlyn hadn't realized that he had moved. Suddenly a few lights flickered before coming on. "They won't all work, but at least we've got this much," Dustil said as he came back over.

Freya, Cole, and Mackenzie all moved off to get to their respective jobs, leaving Emlyn and Dustil.

"So what's my assignment?" Emlyn asked after a moment.

"We get the fun job," Dustil said, folding his arms over his stomach and smiling at her, "That hyperdrive has to be fixed, and we're the only ones with enough skill in repairs to do it."

"Lucky us," Emlyn muttered. With a sigh she pulled a band out of her pocket and looped it around her red-blonde hair, pulling it out of her face. "Let's get to it, Pilot. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

* * *

"We're never going to finish!" Emlyn cried in frustration as another wire blew. This one was yellow. The others had been blue or green. At least there was some variety. 

Dustil tried not to smile; she was funny when she was frustrated. That must have been the fifth bad wire connected to that part she was working on. But… he glanced over at the panel she was trying to repair and studied it.

"There's your problem," he said, wiping the oil off of his hands with a rag as he walked over to her.

"Where? What?" Emlyn asked, glaring at the panel, her eyes darting back and forth as they tried to see what he had seen.

"Right here," Dustil said. He stood behind her and reached an arm around her to point to a jammed link. "It won't let the power flow through smoothly. It's kinked, so it comes sporadically when it should be even."

Emlyn groaned and pressed her palm against her forehead. "Great. I just spent forever trying to fix this fracking thing when it was _a kinked link_. Now I have to replace those wires I killed. Thanks, though," she said, turning around.

Dustil looked down at her and noticed the large, palm shaped smudge on her forehead. He grinned at her.

"What?" Emlyn asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, Em: you're great," Dustil said softly. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he was mentally smacking himself for not thinking before he spoke.

"Um, thanks," Emlyn replied, her cheeks turning pink.

"What I meant was…uh… I mean, it's not that I… I mean I didn't…" Dustil stammered, and then gave up. He cursed under his breath looked away.

"What did you mean?" Emlyn asked quietly, looking at him curiously.

He glanced back at Emlyn and saw that, while she was blushing a bit, she didn't look embarrassed or uncomfortable at his words. Dustil suddenly felt braver. "I meant…" he tried again, but didn't get much further than before. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to; no one had ever taught him to voice that kind of thing. And he was a Jedi.

A Jedi. Jedi didn't give into this kind of thing. Jedi stuck it out and let go. Jedi resisted deep feelings and attachments. Dustil looked at Emlyn looking at him and felt his heart bang hard enough to burst out of his chest. He decided he agreed with Revan on this subject. Jedi couldn't be right about everything, after all.

"Emlyn," Dustil began again. He looked at the metal paneling above her head for a moment, noticing the grooves and scores in it put there by use. He lowered his gaze to the girl in front of him. She stood still, her hair falling out of its loose knot, her eyes full of confusion, dirt on her face… she was biting the inside of her bottom lip again.

Dustil leaned down and kissed her on the mouth.

Emlyn inhaled sharply through her nose as his lips touched hers, but she didn't pull away. After a second's hesitation, she leaned into it, tilting her head so that the kiss could be deepened. Dustil slowly moved his arms around her waist, and felt her hands find his hair. He pulled her closer, pressing his mouth more firmly against hers.

When they finally pulled back, Dustil saw that Emlyn was smiling with her eyes still shut. "What?" he asked her, lifting one hand from her waist to brush a strand of hair off of her face.

She opened her eyes slowly, smile still there. "Do you know how long I've waited for you to kiss me?" she asked.

"What?" Dustil questioned, confused.

Emlyn laughed tried to kiss him on the cheek, but Dustil turned his head at the last moment and took it on his mouth. From her reaction, Dustil didn't think she minded where her kiss landed.

The door opened. The two sprang apart and watched as Mackenzie entered the room. "Hey, Dustil, I ran a diagnostic on the security and didn't find a thing. We're all good in that depar…" Mackenzie trailed off as she looked up from a datapad she was holding. She looked from one blushing face to the next and grinned. "Working hard or hardly working?" she asked slyly.

Emlyn grinned sheepishly at her, telling Mackenzie what she already knew. "Well, I think I'll just find something else to keep myself busy with, then," Mackenzie said with a wink, making the other two blush harder. "Try not to have too much fun."

When she was gone, Dustil smiled at Emlyn and took her hand in his. "Feel like taking a break? I could use something to drink."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Emlyn said, lacing her fingers with his as they made their way to the kitchen.

* * *

"_That _is where we have to work?" Emlyn asked in horror, gaping at the neon lit building. Music throbbed through the walls, and several different races of beings walked in and out, most laughing with a twi'lek or two they had on their arms. 

Emlyn made a face at a man that had three twi'lek females he was currently… _talking_ to. She wrinkled her nose as they walked back inside the silvery walled building. The bouncers at the door didn't even glance up at them.

"Yuck," Mackenzie said as the man disappeared inside, "That nearly burned my retinas out."

"I don't know, I kind of like his idea. Up for a try?" Cole asked Mackenzie with a smirk.

"How about we go somewhere quiet and I stick my blaster down your throat?" Mackenzie asked.

"Love you too, Mack," Cole replied with a wink."

To Emlyn's surprise, Mackenzie actually blushed at Cole's response.

"Shut up," she snapped as she stood and began walking toward the door of the building. The rest followed her, Cole going first, a smile on his face. Emlyn wondered briefly if it was a good idea to just walk through the front door, but decided that they might as well get things rolling. Like Dustil had said: practice.

As soon as they walked through the door Kala was there giving orders in a foreign language to several other twi'lek females, who hurried Mackenzie and Emlyn away from the guys. Dustil and Cole moved as if to stop them, but Kala gave them a look that halted their advances. They followed obediently as they too were taken away.

"You are to serve drinks," Kala told Emlyn and Mackenzie hurriedly, shoving trays full of glasses at them. "Remember that you are servants and must deal with anything they pull," she warned.

Emlyn didn't like the sound of that. She had been in enough cantinas and shady places to know that there were some pretty sick people in the galaxy -- especially in the Outer Rim that would do awful things to people. Some were worse than others, like the Sith… Suddenly she made a decision: she would warn the Republic. But there would be a terrible price for revealing the information she had.

_Lea, I don't want to do this,_ she thought, pain tearing through her chest. She knew what the consequences would be if she told the Jedi and the Republic what she knew.

'_You don't have a choice, Emlyn: you cannot save one life at the cost of millions.'_

_I…I know. I should have done this a long time ago._

'_Yes.'_

_I'll do it as soon as I can._

'_I'm proud of you, Emlyn.'_

_Lea? …I'm sorry I couldn't save you._

'_No one could have.'_

_Go in peace,_ Emlyn thoughts, her throat constricting.

'_Goodbye, Emlyn.'_

Emlyn felt a sharp stab of grief slice into her heart as their connection faded; Lea would die and Emlyn couldn't save her. As she couldn't save Garth, as she couldn't save the first man she had loved. She glanced over at Mackenzie and promised herself that she would do everything she could to ensure her friends' survival; she was sick of failing the people she cared about.

An hour later Emlyn brushed her hair away from her face as she once again swept the room for any sign of Jobba or Ranod. "Nothing," she hissed in frustration.

"Same here," a voice whispered in her ear. She jumped and turned around, coming face to face with Dustil.

"Just our luck, huh?" she asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, but Jobba has to be here somewhere. We're just not looking in the right place," Dustil thought aloud.

"Well he'd better hurry and show up! I'm getting tired of the men in this place," Emlyn grumbled to herself.

"Sorry?"

"Uh, nothing, Dustil." Emlyn hesitated, then said, "Look, when we get out of this, I have to tell you something I should have told you when I first met you. It's about the Sith."

Dustil locked his gaze on her. "We'll talk later, then."

"Yeah..." Emlyn began to walk away when a deep voice speaking in Huttese halted her steps.

"Attention!" boomed the voice. Jobba. He was sitting on a platform at the front of the room, eerie purple lights centered on him, making his folds of yellowish flesh turn a nasty brown color. "We have intruders here that must be dealt with. Please hold still while they are taken care of."

Emlyn looked at Dustil in horror. They had to get out! But if they moved everyone would know immediately that they were the guilty ones. Although that wouldn't matter if Jobba already knew; they had to make a break for it. But before they could even begin to move toward an exit, blasters were trained on them from every angle.

"Welcome, Jedi and Jedi friends," Jobba laughed deeply as they were escorted onto the stage. Mackenzie and Cole were herded up to the platform as well, both of them looking furious.

"I find it amusing that you did not think I would find you out," Jobba chuckled.

"I find it amusing that you can still move with that fat hanging off of you," Cole said lightly.

Jobba just smiled… or something similar. Emlyn wasn't sure if hutts could smile. He waved a stubby arm and the four were bound and gagged immediately before being hauled away down several flights of stairs and then thrown into individual energy cells.

* * *

Emlyn groaned and sank to the floor of her cell. It seemed she was doomed to go through this again and again. She had lost count of how many energy cells she'd been thrown into. 

"It was Kala!" Mackenzie exploded, "She ratted us out! All that garbage about keycards! It makes me sick."

"Hey, it's not like I didn't warn you that Kala couldn't be trusted," Cole said crossly when Emlyn, Dustil, and Mackenzie turned their furious glares on him.

"Well I need someone to blame, and you're in an ideal position," Mackenzie snapped. "You're lucky they didn't put us all in one room."

"Like you could actually do anything," Cole retorted.

"I'll show you exactly what pain I can inflict as soon as we get out of this!" Mackenzie yelled at him.

"Don't bet on it," Cole shouted back.

"Too late!"

"You won't because, if we get out of this, I'm going to kiss you silly," Cole snapped, "Now shut up and think of a plan."

Mackenzie gaped at him. Emlyn gaped at him. Dustil smirked.

Cole scowled at them all. "Get thinking! I have things I'd rather be doing."

"I can see that," Emlyn said, watching Mackenzie's face turn red.

"I'm going as fast as I can," she muttered, sitting cross-legged on the floor of her force cage.

"That's my girl," Cole said.

"I'm not your girl."

"Yes you are."

"Not until I say so, I'm not," Mackenzie retorted.

"And are you?"

She hesitated for a moment, staring at Cole who stared right back without flinching. "Yeah," she said softly, "I guess so."

"As sweet as this is, it would be even better if we weren't currently trying to escape a death sentence," Emlyn pointed out.

"Too late for a plan now, anyway," Dustil said. They heard someone outside the prison entering a lock code. "The executioners are here."

The door opened.

* * *

I wish I had thought this story through better. I'm sure it would have flowed smoother. Darn. But I'll press on! I'm trying to decide whether or not to bring Revan and some others into the story… 

This is not my best or favorite work. I like Once Upon a Wizard. I'll probably get to that after this fic is done.


	8. They've Got Her

Thank you to my reviewers! Your support is fantastic.

Declaimer: I do not own Knights of the Old Republic or anything related to it. I am not making any money off of this story.

* * *

**EIGHT**

The old door hissed and slid back from its frame, metal scraping metal as it retreated. A dark silhouette stood silently in the doorway, its white teeth being the only visible detail other than the slight shine of its long robes. "Well, well," it said in a deep voice, "what have I caught in my net?" A tall, broad-chested man stepped through the doorway wearing a slightly maniacal grin that was slowly spreading across his face. "Two Jedi in one swipe? My luck can't get much better," he laughed, walking toward his prisoners.

"Frack," Emlyn heard Dustil curse quietly. She glanced over at him and saw that he was gritting his teeth and glaring at the newcomer as though hoping the man would burst into flames.

_:Who's that? You know him: _ she asked.

_:Sholdan:_

_:What! Frack:_ Emlyn repeated his earlier sentiment.

_:I sense something in him, Em. It's bad, real bad:_

_:What is it:_ Emlyn asked. Before Dustil could answer, the senator began speaking again.

"And who are your friends, Jedi? Companions that you lured into your trap? Are you forcing them to help you now?" Sholdan asked sneeringly. Walking slowly, he approached Emlyn. "What is your name?" he asked her, his grin fading. He was looking at her in a way that Emlyn didn't like; it was as if he wanted to pick apart her insides just to see what color they were.

"Stay away from her," Dustil snarled.

Sholdan didn't even glance in Dustil's direction and acted as though he had not heard the threat. Annoyingly patient, Sholdan waited for Emlyn to answer his question.

With an effort, Emlyn wiped the angry scowl off of her face and replaced it with a look of severe boredom. "I'd tell you, but you're so reprehensibly dull that I can't bring myself to give a katarn's backside what you want," Emlyn said lightly.

"Watch your tongue if you desire it to remain in your mouth," Sholdan said darkly, "But that doesn't answer my question. Perhaps one of your companions will tell me?" He looked at Cole, who merely gave him a rude signal with his hand; Mackenzie did likewise, grinning as she did so. Sholdan just blinked at them before moving onto Dustil, who had lowered his head so as to not look at the senator. "How about you, Dustil Onasi? Care to give me information on your friend?" he asked.

"What?" Dustil's head snapped up.

Sholdan smirked nastily. "Do you honestly think that anyone who knows your father can't figure out who you are? You look almost exactly like he did at your age. Taller, though," Sholdan mused.

"So what are you going to do? Demand a ransom for me?" Dustil asked mockingly.

"Of course not: I'm going to kill you," Sholdan said, his voice almost happy, "Right after I clear up a few little mysteries. Let's begin with your friend here, shall we?"

"Go jump in an engine core, Sholdan," Dustil said casually.

"What is her name?" The senator asked, ignoring his captive's order.

"Can't seem to remember," Dustil said thoughtfully, looking over at Emlyn with a perplexed frown on his face. "Could be Zsa Zsa, but that might have been my pet tak from when I was a kid. Cute purple things, taks."

Sholdan folded his arms and calmly breathed in, and then out. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say that her name is Emlyn Devender," he said.

"Sorry, that's incorrect. Care for another shot?" Emlyn asked.

"I'm afraid you've erred, child. Your mother's name was Maya Devender. She married a man named Enan Ulak, or so he said. They were married for a short time before she died, and when you were born Enan insisted that you take your mother's last name. He didn't want you."

"Either get to the point or drop dead," Emlyn snapped, raising emotional barriers around her mind to protect herself. She knew what he said about her father was true, but that didn't mean she was okay with it. "My last name isn't Ulak either."

"They were married because he blackmailed her into it, you see," Sholdan continued, beginning to pace slowly, almost ignoring Emlyn completely. "He threatened many things that have no relevance in this story, so I will not repeat them. Before she married Enan, Maya was to wed to another man, but she left him when they disagreed on the teachings of the Sith. She believed the Jedi, he knew they lied. She was, after all, a Jedi. Did you know?

"She did not agree that the strong should rule the weak, and that those who were too weak to seek power should be eliminated or dominated. Maya wanted to protect the useless rats, to _help _them and _shield _them from dangers that they couldn't handle."

"Sounds like she was right to leave then," Emlyn snapped. _My mother was a Jedi… And my father…_

"She was not correct in her decision. If she had not left her betrothed, Enan wouldn't have gotten his claws so deeply into her. She hated him. He hated you. How does that make you feel, little Jedi?" Sholden asked.

"Like I should pound your face in, but that it would take more effort than you're worth," was her reply.

"Your brother killed your mother, did you know?" Sholdan continued as if Emlyn had not spoken.

"Liar; I don't have a brother."

"He is your half sibling and the son of Enan. Would you like to know his name?" Sholdan asked, grinning nastily.

"I say you take your information and shove it up your…"

"She never should have married him," Sholdan interrupted, "But that is history. What I am concerned with at this moment has to do with him, not you." The senator gestured at Dustil.

Emlyn scowled threateningly at him. She would tear his innards out and feed them to the Telosian wild life if he so much as touched Dustil.

"There is more that I'd enjoy telling you, but it will have to wait," Sholdan whispered amusedly. Then to Dustil, "Tell me, how much of what she encountered in the Unknown Regions did Revan tell you about? Not much? That's because she didn't see much. There is more out there than even she encountered. She was close, so close to seeing it before she left. She would be a great ally, Revan. I intend to show her what she missed, and to learn about what she did manage to see.

"Did she tell you about anything important that she found out there? A place, to be specific," Sholdan asked eagerly.

"No," Dusil spat, "But if she did, you wouldn't find out about it."

"She didn't finish what she started, did she? Revan failed. She couldn't run around the galaxy in constant peril while carrying her child, could she? No. If she had managed to finish it, perhaps none of you would be here," the senator told them musingly. He seemed to drift away from his present reality for a moment. Emlyn didn't want to know what he was thinking about.

"You see that gauge right there?" Sholdan asked suddenly, pointing to a small device on the outer bottom panel of each energy cell, "It tells me whether or not you are lying."

"And what did it say?" Dustil asked mockingly.

"That you told the truth. You do not know what Revan found. Interesting; I wonder if your father knows, or if she lied to him too," Sholdan said softly.

"Yeah? I think something different," Dustil said seriously.

"And what is that?" Sholdan asked, greed sparking in his eyes.

"That you're a pathetic, greedy little man in desperate need of a shower," Dustil told him.

"Ah." Sholdan reached out a hand and pointed it toward the control panel for the energy cages. A lever lowered and electricity flooded Dustil's cage. The young Jedi let out a grunt of pain, but remained standing. The electricity flowed stronger. Dustil let out a cry of pain before biting down on his bottom lip.

Emlyn watched a red ribbon of blood run from Dustil's cut lip. Her mind screamed at her to break Sholdan's head open, but the golden energy wall that kept her from him would not allow her to gratify her desire. _No_, she thought determinedly, _I can't let him make me hate. But I won't sit by and let him hurt Dustil, either._

"That was just a taste of what you're going to go through, Jedi," Sholdan said with sadistic pleasure, "However, if you tell me what I want to know your death with be faster. But no, you are a Jedi and would never consider such a thing, would you?"

Dustil spit blood out of his mouth and glowered at his tormentor. "You read my mind, Senator."

"Good, good," Sholdan said with obvious delight. If he had been a child he might have clapped his hands and bounced on his feet. "That will make everything much more fun. I have a new toy that I'd like to try out on you. Wait here, will you?" Sholdan hurried out of the room, his shimmering robes swishing behind him in his haste.

"He's completely mental," Cole said bemusedly when the door closed behind the retreating senator.

"He joined the Sith; what do you expect?" Emlyn asked. She then turned her attention to Dustil, who was wiping the remaining blood off of his mouth. "Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, but I don't like the sound of that 'toy' of his," Dustil said darkly, "And the way he talked about Revan makes me worry that he's going to pull something dangerous. I just don't know what."

Mackenzie sighed and sank to her knees inside of her cell. Cole began absently poking at his energy cage with the end of his shirt, watching as it began to singe and smoke.

"By the way, I was part of the Sith once too, you know," Dustil said accusingly to Emlyn.

"So?"

"Your earlier comment: 'If you join the Sith you're mental.' Remember?"

"You were the one that made me come to that conclusion," Emlyn told him with a smile.

"Thanks a load," Dustil grunted, rolling his shoulders back and forth to loosen them.

Emlyn nodded briefly, and then asked him how he planned to escape. Dustil asked her why he always had to be the one with the plan, and Emlyn told him matter-of-factly that he was the one related to a war hero, so it was his responsibility.

"Ah, I see. How stupid of me," Dustil said.

"Yes, it was. Now think, Dustil," Emlyn ordered.

"Well, I suppose we could…" Dustil began contemplatively, but was interrupted by a quiet sound of triumph form Mackenzie's cell. The golden energy field surrounding her flickered and went out, much to the astonishment of her three companions.

"Save that plan for the next time we get thrown into cells, Dustil," Emlyn said cheerfully.

Dustil ignored her and congratulated Mackenzie. "Thanks," Mackenzie responded as she lithely crossed the room and shut down the other cells.

As soon as he was free from his cage, Cole strode over to Mackenzie and pulled her to him before crushing his lips to hers. Mackenzie's eyes widened in shock, and then she closed them and wrapped her arms around Cole, kissing him back.

The kiss was a little too… intent for Emlyn to watch. She looked down and felt a hand slip into hers. She looked up to see a smiling Dustil. Not able to help it, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning her attention to the control consul. Soon she had the door unlocked and Dustil had managed to get Mackenzie and Cole unlocked.

"Just to be clear, I hate you," Mackenzie told Cole as they exited the room.

"I know," he answered, grinning.

* * *

"So tell me," Emlyn began as the four of them snuck through yet another hallway, "What did you sense in Sholdan? Other than insanity, I mean."

"He's… I don't know how to put it. It's like he's not there," Dustil struggled to say.

"Like something's using him as a skin?" Emlyn asked quietly. There was a knowing tone in her voice that caught Dustil's attention. She glanced at him, her gaze dark.

"What do you know, Emlyn?" Dustil asked.

"I said I'd tell you when we got out of all this," Emlyn whispered, following Mackenzie through another doorway, "And unless I'm on the threshold of death's door, I'm not telling you any sooner; everything you say in a place like this can come back to haunt you. Security cameras are not new, Dustil." They came to the door that opened onto the streets of Nar Shadaa. It was magnetically sealed. Cursing quietly, they began looking for the door's consul.

They crossed the hall, their footsteps on the metal floor sounding as loud as drum beats to their ears. There! Through a window they could see a control consul sitting in the next room along with...

"Oh good! I'd been wondering when we'd find some war droids. Now's the time to get in some of that practice you wanted, Dustil," Emlyn said in mock happiness as she began looking around for a way to overload the circuits in the droid room. Unless she could help it, they weren't going to go charging at the droids, especially with the weaponry they most likely had. Like plasma weapons. Plasma hurt. A lot.

Dustil continued his and Emlyn's conversation, saying, "I'll hold you to that."

"To what? Getting in a fight or two? I was kidding; I'm trying to find a way to _avoid_ that. I know you men don't mind blowing up every obstacle that lands in your path, but I prefer to…" Emlyn started, getting cut off by Dustil.

"No, not that; I'm going to make sure you tell me what you know once we're out of here," Dustil clarified.

"I promised, didn't I?" Emlyn snapped. "I've got to contact the Republic before… oh." She stopped, suddenly remembering that they had bounties on their heads and a warrant for their arrest. She wasn't exactly sure, as she had never actually had a bounty on her before, but a warrant and a price on one's life seemed like they would hinder any communication that wasn't aggressive.

"Do you think your dad would listen to me?" Emlyn asked, beginning to search the wall between them and the droids. Aha! On the left side of the door was a panel that practically calling out, "Over here!" It would do nicely.

Emlyn grinned as she hacked into the panel's system and programmed an overload, and then watched happily as electricity flooded the chamber and the explosions of machines could be heard. "Got it."

"Father will listen," Dustil murmured as they passed through the now empty droid store room, all four of them thankful that almost everyone was at Jobba's party.

"I have to talk to the Jedi Council as well," Emlyn went on, walking over to the consul and slicing into it with ease. "There's something they'll want to know." She activated the security cameras, checked to see if they would have any unwanted visitors. Seeing no one, and once again wondering why, Emlyn then began trying to crack the code on the door's magnetic seal.

"Try 13 25 47 3 84 6. Why the Council?" Dustil said as he leaned against the wall, his head tilted toward the ceiling. The way he stood made him look absolutely adorable. If she had heard herself say that at an earlier time, Emlyn might have lost her most recent meal, but thing were different. She felt like kissing him again, but decided that it wouldn't be a good time, what with the insane senator running around somewhere.

"Because what I have learned concerns all Jedi and consequentially the rest of the galaxy. How the heck did you know that password?" Emlyn demanded as the consul accepted the numbers.

"It's written on the underside of the consul," Dustil said absently, "So what did you learn?"

Emlyn, Cole, and Mackenzie all bent down to look for the code. Sure enough it was scratched into the metal of the machine. Bizarre, and yet incredibly helpful. "I said I'd tell you when we were free," Emlyn repeated.

"Do you guys always do this?" Cole asked as they trotted back out into the hallway to check the sealed door. "I mean, if you do its fine, but it makes you seem a little wacky."

"Do what?" Emlyn asked, punching the button to open the door. The metal creaked and groaned as it began to lethargically retract into the wall. Emlyn wanted to help it along with a few frag mines and a couple of grenades, but didn't think anyone else would appreciate the explosions: like the Sith, for instance.

"Carry on a conversation like you're sitting in a cozy corning in the local cantina," Mackenzie answered for Cole, who found a datapad lying on the ground and picked it up in fascination.

Dustil and Emlyn looked at each other quizzically. "There's such a thing as a cozy anything in a cantina?" Emlyn asked, earning herself a glare from Mackenzie. The door began jerking strangely as it retreated another two inches into the wall. The old thing was getting to get ridiculous; if it didn't hurry up, Emlyn would blow it higher than a Derallian kite could fly.

"Well, seeing as I haven't been in many situations like this, I can't really say," Emlyn answered, "When I traveled, I dealt with pirates and the occasional unidentifiable sentient being that decided I'd taste good as the main course, not Sith who want my head detached from my body."

"I'm usually alone when I'm kidnapped or captured, and I've never been either with her before, so I guess the answer would be no, we don't always act this way while on the run," Dustil said. He bent down to pick up piece of scrape metal and put it up to the slowly retreating door. Using it like a lever, he helped the moaning piece of junk along, much to everyone else's relief.

Soon Dustil had the door wide enough for them to slip through and out into the alley street. It was dark and quiet. Not a good combination, if you asked Dustil. The only sound was the faint music and voices from Jobba's party, but even that was far enough away to be quiet.

"So you really think your father will believe what I tell him?" Emlyn asked again, "I sure wouldn't."

"He'll believe you," Dustil said firmly, pulling her against the wall as someone walked past the alley mouth. "He'd even help us. The problem will be finding him; I don't know where he is at this time of year."

"That won't be a problem," Emlyn said, her face turning white.

"Huh?" Dustil asked.

"They've got her."

"What are you talking…?"

"There," Emlyn whispered, pointing.

Dustil looked and gaped in horror. Filing past the alley and heading for the door to Jobba's detention center were several guards and…

"Revan. They've got Revan," Emlyn whispered hoarsely.

* * *

My cousin is getting married! They're such a cute couple! And he's the first out of all of us (I have around thirty-something cousins, though I'm not sure of the exact number… better count them later) to get married!

Here comes the bride, all dressed in white!

I love weddings!

Oy. I just realized that I didn't go over this chapter before putting it out. Oops. So sorry about any inconsistencies in the text. Let me know if you find any: they need to be expunged when and if they are found. Maybe.

And a thank you to my sister!


	9. Last Entry

This is the last chapter to this story. It's a bit odd, but I decided to end it while I could. Sorry 'bout that. Check my profile if you want to know more.

Declaimer: I do not own Star Wars and am not making any money off of this fanfiction.

* * *

**NINE**

A cloaked figure made its way warily around the rocky entrance of the un-named cave, keeping its senses on high alert; one never knew what to expect. The being hesitated and glanced at the scenery: the small sun of the planet was sinking slowly below the horizon, its eerie, bloodless lighting casting infirm shadows across the diseased landscape in morbid pools of darkness. After a last look at the surrounding land, the being disappeared inside of the cavern.

The cave had very little dissimilarity from the planet's skin, being cadaverous and pallid. The air was stale and thick like the breath of a beast, and the rock was as slimy as a Hut's tongue.

The figure crept silently through the winding halls and chambers, carefully to keep to the wall and avoid anything that looked even remotely alive. Eventually the being arrived at its destination: a small room in the heart of the cave that had belonged to someone it had known. The door to the room was old, battered, and had to be opened with a handle instead of a button. It creaked with age, but not use, when the figure opened it.

Inside was humble and small, containing only a small bedroll, an empty sack, a few pieces of junk, and a datapad. Closing the door behind it, the figure quickly stepped over to the datapad and lifted it from the dust. It was locked. It didn't matter. Within seconds the code was sliced and the contents of the machine were in front of the being.

* * *

_Last Record of Emlyn Devender. _

_Date: Unknown. _

_Time: Unknown. _

_Whereabouts: Presumably western area of the Unknown Regions, though unconfirmed._

As you can see from the stats above, there is little I can say about how things are now, even how long they took to end the way they did. I don't know exactly how they got to be the way they are, but certain events didn't turn out the way I wanted or expected them to, my life being the main one.

I remember when I was very small how my mother would tell me stories of heroes and their adventures. I wanted to be one of them, to have my name told in epic tales that capture the interest of children and adults alike. It was my childhood fantasy, and when I grew, it was my secret dream. I was foolish, and did not realize that acts of heroism cost so much. I am not a hero, but even acts that come close to being heroic take their toll. Many small things over a great deal of time build up until it counts as a large one as far as cost. I do not recall everything I have done, courtesy of my fading memory. At my age and in my situation, that's a bad thing to have. I don 't remember much of anything, but there are a few things that even the Sith can't make me forget.

I remember the day I was captured by Jobba, and how my friends and I escaped. I remember that we found Revan, and that she saved us. She had given birth to a baby girl just a week or so before getting captured. I even know how we escaped: through the ventilation and then on a smuggler's ship. That was an interesting ride, what with all the carnivorous beasts being shipped; cages have their good uses as well as their bad, if you catch my drift. They didn't do much for the smell, though.

After we escaped with Revan, she told us that she had to leave again, that there were things she had had to leave undone when she left the Unkown Regions. She had to stop them at once, or the galaxy would once again be in immediate mortal peril. I told her about the Valley of the Jedi. She knew about already and told me that it was not the right time to tell the Council: they weren't ready.

We warned the Republic about the impending Sith attack from the Unknown Regions. Revan advised me not to tell them everything about the attack: there are some things people just won't understand. Even I didn't understand it fully, and it has been done to me. How do you tell someone that there are ways of having your very being linked with something evil in a way that will vitiate your very self? And that after it is done, you will not mind? That there isn't a way back from it, or to prevent it, but that those thought will no longer concern you? I cannot put into words how it is done; I have lost that ability, and many more. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Carth Onasi couldn't remove the warrant for Mackenzie, Cole, or my arrest, nor could he erase the bounties on our heads, leaving us with very limited options. The Republic was willing to clear Dustil provided Carth be responsible if it turned out his son was really against the Republic. Carth didn't know the rest of us well enough to vouch for us, and Dustil, who did know us, wasn't trusted. Even Revan didn't have much of an effect on the Senate's verdict.

We couldn't get enough evidence against Sholdan. We didn't stop him, and I don't know why. Were we unable? I don't remember anymore… But he won. The Republic is in danger, and we couldn't stop it. That does things to a person that nothing else can do. We did the only thing we could: we left Republic space. We're banished now, but that doesn't matter anymore. It didn't then either, since we were gone before our banishment was official. We just can't go back.

Cole and Mackenzie married and are living on Nar Shadaa, appropriately called the Smuggler's Moon. I don't think I'll ever know what charm they see in the planet, but they love living there. I believe they're expecting a child soon. Or maybe that was last year… It's hard to tell anymore; time isn't as important out here.

Revan left soon after our trials. I think her heart was shattered the day she returned to the Regions, and sadly there won't be a time she can recover. She knew that she would not come back again, as did her husband. It was… heart wrenching to see, but such things are even worse to experience. I would know.

I wish I could have the chance to have children, watch them grow, and age until I am wrinkled, my husband by my side. I won't have that, will I? There are so many things that I cannot have, such as the rest of my life.

Dustil. I don't know where he is now. I love him, and I always will. I wish I could tell him. He found me two years after I quitted Republic space and asked me to marry him. I shouldn't have, but I did; I said yes and walked down the aisle. If I could go back, I would refuse him for his sake. He married me, he wouldn't leave me, and so he could not return to his home or his father. That's two loses for Carth Onasi. I hope his daughter is alright; she's the last thing he has outside of the Republic.

I had known subconsciously that I would have to leave, but I fought the knowledge; I loved Dustil, he loved me, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. One day the Sith came for me. I knew they would: I had broken our bargain. I had promised to keep their secret in return for Lea's life, and they promised to let me live along with her. Lea is gone, and they wanted to kill me as well. So I left again. I did it to protect Dustil, but sometime I wonder… was it the best thing to do? It doesn't matter; it is done.

The Sith caught me, hurt me, and I escaped. They changed me into something. I don't know what I am anymore, but it's not who I was. I suppose it's who I am. I don't want to be this way, but I can't change it. I can't even make myself want to change it, even if I don't like the way I am now. That's another thing that no longer matters.

I did what I could to save my galaxy, and I hope it helped. Revan – or perhaps the Exiled Jedi – will be the one to deliver us all, but it won't be me. It's odd, being on the sidelines. I always expected to be the hero, but I'm not. Almost no one will remember me, almost no one knew me, and I will not be missed. How can a shadow be missed? That's what I am, after all. Perhaps who I was will have made a ripple or two in history.

Now there is one last thing I must do before I no longer remember why it has to be done. I'm not coming back this time, but that's okay. I don't want things to stay the way they are. I hope I can do what is required of me, for everyone's sakes.

I know you'll read this sometime, and after you've finished, please send word to Dustil Onasi, son of Morgana and Carth Onasi, and tell him that no matter what I forget, he will be remembered. And you, if you are not a Jedi yet, you will be, and you need to think about the consequences of saving the galaxy. In the end, though, it won't matter what the cost is to you. As a Jedi, you'll help whether you want to or not.

That is what it means… To be a Jedi.

* * *

And that's it! I wrote this chapter in like… I don't know, but it was definitely under an hour. Sorry if it's confusing, but that's the way it's staying.

A last thank you to my readers, especially Lady Drachir and Amme for sticking with me on this story by giving me helpful reviews.

And to my sister: Interesting feedback in the review, sis. And you are not to use my computer without my knowledge… again!

Goodbye, everyone. 


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